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A    HISTORY 


The  Clapboard  Trees 


THIRD     PARISH 

I^EDHAM,  MASS. 
Now  THE  UNr„.uN  ,>..„„,  West  Deo„.„ 

736 


556 


GEORGE    WILLIS    COOKE 

RBCNTLV   „,K,sTB„   OF  THE   PAR,s„ 


BOSTON 
GEO,  H.  ELIJS,  14,  FRANKLIN  STREET 


COPYRIGHT  BY 

1887. 


PREFACE. 


The  four  sermons  delivered  in  January  and  June,  1886,  have 
now  been  entirely  rewritten  and  the  matter  rearranged.  The 
parish  records  have  been  carefully  studied,  and  what  is  of 
interest  in  their  contents  is  here  reproduced.  The  town  records, 
as  well  as  those  of  the  first  and  second  parishes  and  the  Baptist 
church  and  society,  have  been  also  made  use  of,  whenever  pos- 
sible. The  aim  has  been  to  save  from  destruction  whatever  can 
have  any  value  in  connection  with  the  history  of  the  parish. 
When  the  Clapboard  Trees  parish  records  have  been  copied,  the 
original  spelling  and  phraseology  have  been  retained;  but  no 
attempt  has  been  made  to  copy  the  minute  details  of  the  town 
and  second  parish  records.  The  illustrations  have  been  intro- 
duced with  the  hope  of  adding  to  the  interest  of  the  volume. 
The  picture  of  the  Summer  Street  house  is  a  very  good  repro- 
duction of  a  slight  sketch  made  by  Dr.  Francis  Howe.  The  plot 
of  1754  and  the  map  of  1807  are  from  rude  outlines  found 
among  the  parish  papers.  The  picture  of  the  meeting-house  is 
after  a  pen-sketch  made  from  a  photograph.  It  may  be  added 
that  these  pages  have  been  written  for  those  who  live  or  have 
lived  in  the  parish,  and  who  have  again  and  again  talked  over 
the  incidents  in  this  history.  The  following  letter  explains  why 
these  pages  appear  in  print:  — 

West  Dedham,  April  25,  1887. 
Rev.  George  Willis  Cooke: 

Dear  Sir, —  At  a  very  full  meeting  of  the  members  of  the  congregation  of  the 
Third  Parish,  held  yesterday  after  morning  service,  it  was  unanimously  voted, — 

"  That  the  thanks  of  the  congregation  be  extended  to  our  pastor  for  the  able 
discourses  preached  by  him  in  commemorating  our  one  hundred  and  fiftieth 
anniversary,  and  that  a  Committee  of  three  be  appointed  to  request  a  copy  of 
these  historical  sermons  for  publication." 

In  accordance  with  the  above  vote,  the  undersigned  were  appointed  as  that 
Committee ;  and  we  take  pleasure  in  sending  you  a  record  of  the  action  of  the 
meeting  and  to  ask  of  you  to  furnish  a  copy  of  the  historical  discourses  for 


4  PREFACE 

publication.  Allow  the  Committee  to  add  their  belief  that  the  society  as  well 
as  many  strangers  interested  in  this  old  parish  were  much  pleased  by  the  care- 
ful and  able  manner  in  which  you  had  "  searched  the  records  "  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  these  sermons.  Some  misunderstanding  between  us  seems  to  have  thus 
far  prevented  your  acting  in  this  matter,  but  the  Committee  feel  it  is  not  too 
late  to  act  now ;  and  especially,  in  view  of  the  publication  of  the  addresses  at 
Dedham's  anniversary  last  September,  it  is  desirable  that  our  history  be  printed. 
The  Committee  desire  to  co-operate  with  you  in  any  way  you  may  suggest. 
Awaiting  your  reply,  we  are  yours  sincerely, 

J  AS.  M.  ELLIS,  )      Committee 

ERASTUS  E.  GAY,  \  of 

MARY  E.  FISHER,)  Third  Parish. 


Postscript. —  Since  the  following  pages  were  in  type,  additional 
information  about  the  Rev.  Andrew  Tyler  has  been  found  in  the 
Gejiealogy  of  the  Richards  Fa7?iily,  compiled  by  the  Rev.  Abner 
Morse,  the  substance  of  which  has  been  given  in  a  paragraph  on 
page  43,  at  the  risk  of  its  conflicting  with  other  statements  in  the 
same  chapter.  The  same  work  gives  additional  information  about 
Dr.  Joseph  Richards.  In  George  L.  Hosmer's  Historical  Sketch 
of  the  Town  of  Deer  Isle,  Maine,  will  be  found  an  account  of 
Joseph,  Belcher,  and  George  Tyler,  who  settled  in  that  town. 

The  portrait  of  Warren  Colburn  has  been  kindly  furnished  free 
of  charge  by  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  the  publishers  of  his  Intel- 
lectual Arithmetic,  a  work  now  used  in  a  majority  of  Massachu- 
setts towns. 


CONTENTS. 


Page 

I.     Formation  of  the  Parish, 7 

II.    Locating  the  Meeting-house, i6 

III.  Rev.  Josiah  Dwight,  the  First  Minister, 26 

IV.  Rev.  Andrew  Tyler,  the  Second  Minister, 39 

V.     The  Parish  in  the  Revolutionary  War, 61 

VI.     Settling  a  New  Minister, '......  70 

VII.    The  New  Meeting-house, 76 

The  Ministerial  Fund, 90 

VIII.     Rev.  Thomas  Thacher,  the  Third  Minister, 94 

Mr.  Thacher's  Will, 106 

IX.     Rev.  John  White,  the  Fourth  Minister, no 

X.     The  Baptist  Society, 120 

XI.     The  Parish  in  Recent  Years, 125 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

House  where  Dr.  Cutler  preached  in  1731, 22 

Autograph  of  Josiah  Dwight 36 

Plot  of  the  Land  given  Mr.  Tyler, 40 

Autograph  of  Andrew  Tyler, 43 

Autograph  of  Thomas  Thacher, 72 

Map  of  the  Parish  in  1S07,       11 

Meeting-house  built  in  1808, 81 

Portrait  of  John  White, 112 

Bust  of  Warren  Colburn, 126 


THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES   PARISH. 


FORMATION  OF  THE  PARISH. 

Nothing  of  thrilling  interest  can  there  be  in  the  history 
of  a  quiet  country  parish, —  only  the  simple  story  of  lives 
faithfully  lived  and  God  truly  served.  When  we  remember, 
however,  the  influence  of  the  New  England  meeting-houses 
in  developing  the  character  of  her  people  and  in  fostering 
the  spirit  of  liberty,  even  one  of  the  most  unpretentious 
of  them  obtains  a  new  significance.  At  the  present  time, 
when  there  is  a  great  interest  in  everything  that  has  a  his- 
tory, it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  consider  the  doings  of  a 
country  parish  through  a  century  and  a  half.  The  growing 
interest  in  every  phase  of  the  history  of  our  country  is  full 
of  promise,  for  the  life  of  the  present  is  the  product  of  the 
life  of  the  past. 

No  myths  and  traditions  of  a  primeval  time  cluster  about 
the  origin  of  our  country,  and  there  are  no  legends  of 
chivalry  and  romance  anywhere  along  its  annals.  It  is  all 
plain  history  from  first  to  last,  with  only  here  and  there  a 
bordering  touch  of  sentiment  and  poetry.  The  history  of 
a  people  struggling  for  liberty  and  equal  rights,  however, 
is  never  one  that  can  be  uninteresting  to  those  who  love 
their  fellow-men.  When  that  struggle  is  for  freedom  of 
soul  and  for  manly  independence,  every  phase  of  it  is  writ- 
ten with  promise.  It  is  well,  therefore,  that  we  should  be 
curious  about  the  simple  history  of  the  religious,  political, 
and  social  life  that  has  been  forming  on  this  continent  dur- 
ing the  last  two  centuries  and  a  half.     The  more  carefully 


5  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

we  Study  it  in  the  light  of  the  growing  spirit  of  mental  and 
political  liberty,  the  more  cause  shall  we  have  to  admire  it 
and  to  believe  it  providential. 

The  history  of  a  country  parish  in  New  England  to  those 
who  now  compose  it  is  a  history  of  their  ancestors.  From 
the  first  settlement  of  the  Clapboard  Trees  parish  to  the 
present  time,  the  same  names  constantly  appear.  Nearly 
every  one  of  the  first  settlers  now  has  descendants  living  in 
the  parish.  If  the  homely  facts  set  down  in  the  parish 
records  can  have  little  interest  for  whoever  is  concerned 
only  with  the  large  events  and  ideas  that  affect  mankind, 
not  so  with  those  who  care  for  the  names  of  the  persons 
from  whom  they  are  descended.  The  lives  of  men  are  not 
made  up  from  great  events,  but  from  the  small  concerns 
of  the  home  and  the  routine  of  daily  vocations.  In  the 
homes,  the  schools,  and  the  meeting-houses  of  Massachu- 
setts, the  simple,  sturdy,  and  true  life  of  its  people  has  been 
developed.  It  cannot  be  out  of  place,  therefore,  to  look  on 
any  spot  where  that  life  is  in  the  process  of  formation,  and 
see  how  it  goes  on. 

Nearly  fifty  years  passed,  after  the  settlement  of  Dedham 
in  1636,  according  to  Mr.  Thacher,  before  any  effort  was 
made  to  settle  the  western  part  of  the  town.  The  causes 
lay  in  the  necessity  for  a  compact  settlement  so  long  as 
there  were  any  threatenings  from  the  Indians,  and  in  the 
desire  that  each  community  should  be  within  reach  of  a  very 
strict  government.  The  earliest. mention  of  this  part  of  the 
town  is  an  entry  in  the  town  records  of  1640,  when  a  grant 
of  land  in  Rock  Meadow  was  made  to  the  Rev.  John  Allin, 
the  first  minister  of  the  town  ;  and  it  would  seem  that  other 
persons  had  already  located  land  in  that  vicinity.  In  1663, 
Nathaniel  Colburn  received  a  grant  of  land  at  Pond  Plain  ; 
and  Joseph  Ellis  one  on  Fox  Hill  in  1694.  It  is  probable 
that  the  first  house  was  built  not  far  from  1675  or  1680,  for 
the  first  of  these  dates  would  agree  with  the  statement 
made  by  Mr.  Thacher.  In  1682,  the  town  made  a  rule  that 
no  one  was  to  remove  to  a  greater  distance  than  two  miles 
from  the   meeting-house  without  a  special  license;  and  this 


FORMATION    OF    THE    PARISH  9 

would  indicate  that  such  removals  had  been  made  or  were 
contemplated.  At  about  this  period,  the  houses  of  the  first 
inhabitants  of  the  town  began  to  decay  ;  and  there  was  a 
necessity  for  building  new  ones.  The  tendency  was,  as  this 
occurred,  for  the  sake  of  more  land  to  remove  farther  from 
the  meeting-house  to  the  farms  which  had  been  already  im- 
proved in  the  western  part  of  the  town. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  selectmen,  held  Dec.  31,  1663,  they 
decided  to  lay  before  the  next  town  meeting  the  following 
proposition  :  ''  It  is  agreed  to  propose  to  the  town  that  the 
proprietors  in  the  clapboard  trees  would  renew  their  lines 
some  time  this  winter."  This  would  indicate  that  the  hill 
where  the  meeting-house  has  always  been  located  was 
already  granted  to  different  persons,  who  made  use  of  it 
for  the  cutting  of  the  timber  growing  there.  The  name 
Clapboard  Trees  had  probably  come  into  use  even  earlier, 
and  was  derived  from  the  character  of  the  timber  growing 
on  the  spot.  On  the  first  settlement  of  the  town,  clap- 
boards had  been  of  great  value ,'  and,  as  new  houses  were 
being  built,  they  were  in  constant  demand.  A  saw-mill  was 
built  at  an  early  day  in  the  vicinity  of  what  is  now  Ellis  Sta- 
tion. In  time,  the  whole  western  part  of  the  town  was 
known  as  the  Clapboard  Trees  ;  but  later  this  name  has 
been  applied  only  to  the  hill  and  the  region  eastward  of  it. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  a  consider- 
able number  of  houses  had  been  built  in  the  western  part  of 
the  town.  From  time  to  time,  roads  were  laid  out  and  built ; 
but  no  other  mention  of  it  is  made  in  the  town  records  until 
the  inhabitants  were  numerous  enough  to  wish  to  have  a 
meeting-house  and  religious  services  of  their  own.  In  the 
spring  of  171 7,  a  proposition  was  before  the  town  to  free 
those  living  in  the  southern  part  of  the  town  from  paying 
the  ministerial  tax;  and  it  is  probable  that  those  asking  this 
favor  were  already  having  preaching  of  their  own  some- 
where in  the  neighborhood  of  the  ''old  saw-mill,"  near  the 
present  site  of  Ellis  Station  on  the  New  York  &  New  Eng- 
land Railroad.  For  more  than  a  dozen  years  the  agitation 
for  better  religious  accommodations  was   continued   by  the 


10  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

people  of  this  part  of  the  town,  and  it  is  quite  certain  that 
they  had  preaching  among  them  as  early  as  1722.  They 
asked  to  be  set  off  into  a  separate  precinct  or  parish,  to 
have  the  meeting-house  removed  nearer  the  centre  of  the 
town  or  to  have  two  ministers  supported  by  the  town.  The 
town  would  not  accept  either  of  these  three  propositions  ; 
but  it  did  give  permission  that  preaching  should  be  had,  and 
it  freed  those  attending  it  from  the  customary  tax.  The 
town  records  contain  the  following  concise  and  expressive 
accounts  of  what  was  attempted  and  the  results  :  — 

May  13,  1717. —  It  was  further  proposed  if  it  be  the  mind  of  the 
town  that  the  estates  of  the  persons  at  the  old  saw  mill  and  other  per- 
son's estates  living  five  miles  from  the  meeting-house  shall  be  assessed 
to  the  minister's  salary  freeing  them  of  their  head  money,  provided  they 
pay  their  head  money  to  the  place  where  they  constantly  hear  and  being 
under  the  hand  of  the  receiver  that  they  hear  some  one.  Voted  in  the 
affirmative. 

March  7,  1721. —  This  day  the  inhabitants  of  this  town  living  at  or 
near  the  old  saw  mill  did  present  their  petition  to  the  town  desiring  the 
town  to  free  them  from  paying  to  the  minister  in  this  town  in  order  to 
have  preaching  amongst  themselves.     Voted  in  the  negative. 

May  15,  1 721. —  This  15th  day  of  May  several  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  southerly  part  of  this  town  did  present  a  petition  to  the  town  desir- 
ing the  town  to  set  them  off  from  the  northerly  part  of  this  town  in 
order  to  be  a  township  among  them.     Non  concurence. 

March  6,  1722. —  This  day  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  south- 
westwardly  part  of  this  town  did  present  a  petition  to  the  town  desiring 
the  town  to  set  them  off  as  a  township  or  precinct. 

This  day  also  the  inhabitants  of  the  clapboardtrees  and  other  inhabi- 
tants of  this  town  did  present  a  petition  to  the  town  desiring  to  have 
the  meeting  house  removed  or  to  be  set  off  as  a  township  or  precinct. 

April  17,  1722. —  This  day  the  inhabitants  of  the  south  part  of  this 
town  at  or  near  the  old  saw  mill  presented  a  petition  to  the  town  desir- 
ing to  be  set  off  from  this  town  as  a  township  or  a  precinct.  It  was 
proposed  to  the  town  whether  it  be  their  mind  to  free  from  paying  to 
the  ministry  here  for  the  present  such  inhabitants  as  live  from  the  town 
beyond  Hawses  Brook,  and  shall  agree  and  do  their  part  with  rest  of 
the  mentioned  inhabitants  to  obtain  and  maintain  preaching  amongst 
themselves.     Voted  in  the  affirmative. 

It  was  further  proposed  to  the  town  to  choose  a  committee  to  con- 
sider the  petition  of  some  of  the  inhabitants  for  a  township  or  precinct 
at  or  near  the  old  saw  mill,  and  to  view  where  may  be  the  most  proper 


FORMATION    OF    THE    PARISH  II 

place  for  bounds  if  they  judge  it  necessary  to  make  report  pf  the  whole 
to  the  town  at  their  next  general  meeting.  Voted  in  the  affirmative  ; 
and  the  committee  chosen  by  vote  were  Capt.  Jeremiah  Fisher,  Lieut. 
John  Metcalf  and  Lieut.  Ebenezar  Woodward. 

October  14,  1723. —  Samuel  Dexter  called  to  be  the  minister.  Joseph 
Ellis,  Jr.,  Jonathan  Onion,  John  Gay,  John  Richards,  Ebenezar  Fales 
and  Lusher  Gay  did  not  consent  to  the  vote  of  the  town  to  grant  Mr. 
Dexter  an  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  settlement. 

May  15,  1724. —  It  was  also  put  to  the  town  whether  it  be  their 
mind  to  grant  the  petition  of  several  of  the  inhabitants  at  or  near  the  old 
saw  mill,  that  they  might  have  a  township.     Voted  in  the  affirmative. 

May  10,  1725.—  It  was  put  to  the  town  whether  it  be  their  mind  to 
grant  the  first  part  or  paragraph  in  a  petition  of  some  of  the  inhabitants 
on  the  southerly  part  of  the  town  so  far  as  to  free  them  from  paying  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  ministry  in  this  town  from  this  time,  such  of  them 
as  have  usually  attended  the  public  worship  of  God  there,  to  free  them 
for  this  present  year.     Voted  in  the  affirmative. 

March  6,  1727. —  This  day  there  being  a  petition  from  the  westerly 
part  of  the  town,  it  was  proposed  to  the  town  whether  they  would  consider 
of  the  said  petition  until  the  town  meeting  in  May,  and  passed  in  the 
affirmative. 

This  day  the  town  was  served  with  a  copy  from  the  General  Court  of 
a  petition  from  the  southerly  part  of  this  town  and  from  the  westerly 
part  of  the  town  of  Stoughton. 

It  is  this  day  put  to  the  town  whether  they  will  choose  a  committee 
to  draw  up  an  answer  to  the  copy  of  the  petition  from  the  Court  of  the 
southerly  part  of  this  town.     Passed  in  the  negative. 

It  was  also  this  day  put  to  the  town  whether  they  will  leave  the  con- 
sideration of  the  copy  of  the  said  petition  until  the  town  meeting  in  May. 
Passed  in  the  Negative. 

It  was  this  day  put  to  the  town,  whether  they  would  reconsider  the 
two  last  votes  with  respect  to  the  copy  of  the  petition.  Answered  in  the 
affirmative. 

It  was  this  day  put  to  the  town  whether  they  would  choose  a  com- 
mittee to  consider  of  the  copy  of  the  petition  from  the  Court  of  the 
southerly  part  of  this  town  to  give  their  reasons  to  the  town  at  our 
meeting  in  May  next  why  the  petition  should  not  be  granted.  Voted  in 
the  affirmative.  The  committee  chosen  was  Capt.  Jeremiah  Fisher,  Lieut. 
John  Metcalf,  Lieut.  Ebenezar  Woodward. 

May  10,  1727.— It  was  this  day  put  to  the  town  to  hear  some  propo- 
sals from  sundry  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  southerly  part  of  this  town  to 
see  if  the  town  can  come  into  some  good  agreement :  first,  either  to  main- 
tain two  ministers  at  the  charge  of  the  whole  town ;  this  was  answered  in 
the  negative.  Secondly,  as  to  remove  the  meeting  house  more  into  the 
center  of  the  town  than  where  it  stands.     This  was  answered  in  the  neg- 


12  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

ative.  Thirdly,  whether  they  would  leave  the  determination  of  the  said 
proposals  to  a  committee  of  disinterested  men.  This  was  answered  in 
the  negative. 

July  31,  1727. —  It  was  this  day  put  to  the  town  whether  they  would 
grant  the  first  paragraph  in  the  copy  from  the  Great  and  General  Court 
of  a  petition  from  the  southerly  part  of  this  town,  namely,  to  be  set  off 
in  order  to  a  distinct  precinct.     This  was  answered  in  the  negative. 

It  was  also  put  to  the  town  whether  they  would  remove  the  old  meet- 
ing house  more  into  the  center  of  the  town  than  where  it  now  stands. 
This  was  answered  in  the  negative. 

It  was  further  put  to  the  town  whether  they  would  choose  a  commit- 
tee to  show  cause  to  the  Great  and  General  Court  the  next  session,  on 
the  first  Friday  of  the  said  session,  why  the  petition  should  not  be 
granted.  Answered  in  the  affirmative ;  and  the  committee  chosen  was 
Thomas  Fuller,  William  Bullard,  and  Lieut.  Joshua  Fisher. 

November  8,  1727. —  It  was  also  this  day  put  to  the  town  whether  they 
would  repeal  the  vote  entered  in  this  book  in  the  year  171 7  with  respect 
to  the  freeing  the  heads  of  such  persons  from  paying  to  the  minister's 
salary  as  live  live  miles  from  the  meeting  house.  This  was  passed  in 
the  negative. 

Failing  to  secure  what  they  had  so  persistently  asked  for, 
the  discontented  part  of  the  town  sent  to  the  General  Court 
a  petition  stating  the  difficulties  under  which  they  labored, 
owing  to  the  distance  they  were  from  the  meeting-house,  and 
asking  that  a  new  precinct  be  created  for  their  benefit  or 
that  the  meeting-house  be  more  centrally  located.  A  com- 
mittee was  appointed,  which  reported  July  4,  1727,  as  follows  : 

That  viewing  the  situation,  and  considering  the  circumstances,  are  of 
opinion  that  it  will  be  inconvenient  to  grant  the  prayer  of  the  petition 
at  present;  but  for  as  much  as  it  appears  to  the  committee  that  the 
major  part  of  the  petitioners  labor  under  great  difficulties  in  the  winter 
season,  in  attending  the  Public  Worship  of  God,  by  reason  of  their  dis- 
tance from  the  Meeting-House,  the  Committee  propose  that  the  Public 
Worship  of  God  be  performed  by  a  Minister,  to  be  provided  by  the 
petitioners,  in  some  private  house,  as  near  the  center  as  may  be,  for  five 
months  in  the  year,  viz.,  November,  December,  January,  February  and 
March,  and  that  there  be  allowed  thirty  shillings  per  Sabbath  for  the  said 
service,  the  charge  to  be  borne  by  the  whole  Town,  and  to  continue  until 
the  further  order  of  the  Court. 

Not  securing  the  aid  of  the  General  Court  in  their  effort  to 
obtain  a  new  precinct,  the  agitators  for  a  division  of  the  par- 


FORMATION    OF    THE    PARISH  1 3 

ish   renewed  their  efforts  before  the  town  meeting,  as  the 
following  entries  on  the  town  records  will  show :  — 

May  13,  1728. —  It  was  proposed  to  the  town  whether  they  would 
grant  money  for  the  support  of  preaching  in  the  southerly  part  of  the 
town,  according  to  the  act  of  the  Great  and  General  Court ;  and  this  vote 
passed  in  the  affirmative. 

It  was  put  to  the  town  whether  they  would  remove  the  meeting  house 
more  into  the  center  of  the  town  than  where  it  now  stands,  to  accommo- 
date the  whole  town  except  in  Springfield  corner ;  and  this  passed  in 
the  negative. 

It  was  this  day  put  to  the  town  to  know  if  it  be  the  mind  of  the  town 
to  grant  the  petition  from  some  of  the  southerly  part  of  the  town  to  be 
set  off  a  distinct  precinct  or  township,  according  to  the  bound  set  in  said 
petition  in  order  to  join  with  a  part  of  the  town  of  Stoughton  •  and  this 
vote  passed  in  the  negative. 

September.  2,  1728. —  It  was  this  day  put  to  the  town  if  it  be  the  mind 
of  the  town  to  grant  the  petition  which  was  brought  by  some  of  the 
southerly  part  of  the  town  to  set  them  off  a  township  according  to  the 
petition,  provided  that  Stoughton  will  set  off  the  westerly  part  of  that 
town  to  join  with  them ;  and  this  vote  passed  in  the  affirmative. 

December  2,  1728. —  It  was  this  day  put  to  the  town  whether  it  be 
the  mind  of  the  town  to  erect  a  meeting  house  for  the  public  worship  of 
God  where  it  may  best  accommodate  the  said  town  of  Dedham  in  gen- 
eral, excepting  Springfield  inhabitants  and  that  neighborhood,  who  may 
be  exempted  from  the  charge  of  the  same ;  and  this  vote  passed  in  the 
negative. 

May  12,  1729. —  It  was  put  to  the  town  to  know  their  mind  whether 
the  monev  granted  by  the  town  in  May  the  13th,  1728,  to  support  preach- 
ing in  the  southerly  part  of  Dedham  was  intended  for  more  than  one 
year.     Passed  in  the  negative. 

It  was  put  to  the  town  to  know  whether  it  be  their  minds  to  come  into 
any  measures  more  than  they  have  dope  for  the  release  of  such  famihes 
as  live  remote  from  public  worsh'ip  in  Dedham.     Passed  in  the  negative. 

It  is  evident  that  by  this  time  a  good  deal  of  feeling  had 
been  stirred  up,  and  the  town  was  as  persistent  in  rejecting 
the  demands  of  the  people  of  the  proposed  new  parish  as 
they  were  in  pressing  its  claims.  All  the  propositions 
presented  to  the  town  being  rejected,  resort  was  had  once 
more  to  the  legislative  power. 

Petitions  were  presented  to  the  General  Court  by  Joseph 
Smith,    John    Everett,    Samuel    Guild,  Jonathan    Battleson, 


14  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

also  by  John  Dean  and  others,  Samuel  Bullard  and  others, 
James  Fales  and  Ebenezer  Healey,  asking  that  a  parish  be 
formed  out  of  the  southern  part  of  Dedham  and  the  northern 
part  of  Stoughton.  The  committee  to  whom  these  peti- 
tions were  referred  reported  that  they  had  viewed  the 
ground,  and  they  made  the  following  recommendation  in 
favor  of  a  division  :  — 

We  humbly  are  of  opinion  that  it  be  made  into  a  distinct  township, 
the  bounds  of  the  whole  to  be  as  follows  :  beginning  at  a  place  called 
Purgatory  on  Neponset  River,  where  it  may  most  conveniently  take  the 
house  and  home  lot  of  Josiah  Fisher,  Junr.  from  thence  to  a  place  called 
the  cross  ways,  taking  in  the  house  and  home  lot  of  John  Hawes,  from 
thence  so  as  to  take  in  the  house  and  home  lot  of  Lusher  Gay, 
from  thence  so  as  to  take  in  the  house  and  home  lot  of  John  Baker, 
from  thence  to  the  line  for  the  precinct  at  Springfield,  so  as  to  take  in  the 
house  and  home  lot  of  Amos  Fisher,  thence  by  the  said  line  to  Bubbling 
Brook,  from  whence  to  Walpole  line  and  by  the  said  line  to  Traphole 
Brook  and  by  the  said  brook  to  Neponset  River  and  by  the  same  to 
the  first  mentioned  station ;  and  that  the  petitioners  have  leave  to  bring 
in  a  bill  accordingly.  And,  whereas,  there  has  been  and  still  remains  an 
unhappy  difference  among  the  inhabitants  about  the  placing  an  house 
for  the  public  worship  of  God,  it  is  therefore  humbly  proposed  that  the 
said  House  be  ordered  in  such  place  and  time  as  a  committee  of  this 
Court  shall  appoint,  so  as  to  accommodate  the  inhabitants  of  Dedham 
and  all  the  inhabitants  of  this  proposed  town. 

This  report  was  acted  upon  during  the  session,  and  the 
new  parish  was  established  by  law.  In  the  mean  tune,  the 
effort  to  secure  justice  at  the  hands  of  the  town  meeting  was 
continued.  Even  after  the  new  precinct  was  established,  the 
subject  was  discussed ;  but  all  propositions  looking  to  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  old  relations  were  negatived.  The  follow- 
ing are  the  concluding  entries  on  the  town  records:  — 

March  2,  1730. —  It  was  put  to  the  town  whether  they  will  grant 
thirty  pounds  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  southerly  part  of  Dedham  in 
order  to  the  maintaining  preaching  with  part  of  Stoughton  among  them- 
selves.    Passed  in  the  negative. 

It  was  put  to  the  town  whether  they  will  remove  the  meeting  house 
more  into  the  center  of  the  town.     Passed  in  the  negative. 

It  was  put  to  the  town  whether  they  will  maintain  two  ministers  at 
the  charge  of  the  town  out  of  one  box  or  treasury.  Passed  in  the 
negative. 


FORMATION    OF    THE    PARISH  1 5 

It  was  put  to  the  town  whether  they  will  maintain  two  ministers  at 
the  town  charge,  exempting  Springfield  from  the  charge.  Passed  in 
the  negative. 

May  II,  1730. —  It  was  proposed  to  the  town  whether  they  would 
grant  the  petition  of  some  inhabitants  of  this  town  that  the  town-  would 
build  a  new  meeting  house  near  the  midway  between  where  the  meeting 
house  now  stands  and  the  cross  ways  at  John  Hawses.  It  passed  in 
the  negative. 

It  was  also  proposed  to  the  town  whether  they  would  free  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  southerly  part  of  the  town  who  usually  meet  at  Nathaniel 
Guild's  house  paying  the  ministers  rate  in  the  town  this  present  year. 
It  passed  in  the  negative. 

April  14,  1731. —  It  was  put  to  the  town  if  they  would  make  null 
and  void  a  vote  of  the  town  passed  Sept.  2,  172S,  setting  off  a  part  of 
Dedham  to  join  with  a  part  of  Stoughton  for  a  township.  It  passed  in 
the  negative. 

May  12,  1731. —  Upon  the  desire  of  a  number  of  the  free  holders  of 
the  town  set  forth  in  the  warrant  for  the  meeting  it  was  put  to  the  town 
(i),  if  they  would  reconsider  and  make  null  and  void  a  vote  of  the  town 
passed  September  2,  1728,  setting  off  a  part  of  this  town  to  join  with  a 
part  of  Stoughton  to  be  a  township;  passed  in  the  negative;  (2)  or  else 
if  it  were  the  mind  of  the  town  to  congregate  together  in  the  most  con- 
venient place  therefor,  this  passed  in  the  negative ;  (3)  if  it  were  the 
mind  of  the  town  that  the  greatest  number  that  can  agree  and  unite  in  a 
place  to  build  a  second  meeting  house  and  settle  a  minister  and  maintain 
preaching  they  and  all  that  shall  see  cause  to  join  in  said  good  work 
shall  be  freed  from  any  ministerial  charge  in  any  other  part  of  the  town : 
voted  in  the  negative. 


II. 

LOCATING   THE   MEETING-HOUSE. 

The  order  of  the  General  Court  creating  the  new  parish 
or  precinct  was  passed  Oct.  8,  1730;  and  the  first  legal 
meeting  was  held  October  22  at  the  house  of  John  Ellis, 
near  the  present  Ellis  Station.  This  house  was  selected  as 
a  place  for  holding  the  parish  meetings,  and  for  the  Sunday- 
services  of  the  parish,  probably  because  it  was  a  tavern  and 
afforded  the  necessary  room  for  these  purposes.  At  this 
meeting,  John  Everett  was  chosen  moderator;  James  Pales, 
Jr.,  clerk;  and  John  Everett,  James  Fales,  Jr.,  and  Ebenezer 
Healey,  assessors.  November  8,  another  meeting  was  held 
at  the  house  of  Nathaniel  Guild,  who  lived  near  the  site  of 
the  present  Orthodox  church  in  Norwood,  when  fifty  pounds 
were  voted  for  preaching,  and  a  committee  appointed  to 
secure  a  minister  for  six  months.  The  meetings  were  to 
be  held  for  three  months  at  the  house  of  John  Ellis,  and  for 
three  at  that  of  Nathaniel  Guild,  if  it  could  be  procured ; 
if  not,  for  the  whole  six  months  at  the  house  of  John  Ellis. 
It  was  also  proposed  to  build  a  meeting-house  at  the  centre 
of  the  parish,  to  be  forty  feet  in  length,  thirty-six  in  width, 
and  twenty  feet  stud  or  thereabouts.  At  a  meeting  held 
Jan.  20,  1 73 1,  it  was  voted  to  procure  a  surveyor  to  ascertain 
the  centre  of  the  parish  ;  and  a  committee  was  appointed 
to  buy  boards,  shingles,  and  clapboards.  Although  the 
centre  of  the  parish  was  ascertained,  which  was  probably  a 
little  south  of  the  present  Clapboard  Trees  church,  and  the 
work  of  building  a  meeting-house  begun,  not  all  the  people 
were  by  any  means  satisfied  with  the  location.  The  differ- 
ences of  opinion  led  to  the  holding  of  a  meeting  in  May, 
when  it  was  decided  to  have  "3.  loving  conference"  together 
June  7.     Then  it  was  thought  best  to  leave  the  decision  as  to 


LOCATINC    THE    MEET1NC}-110USE  \J 

the  location  to  the  General  Court.  A  committee  of  the 
General  Court  accordingly  viewed  the  situation,,  and  made 
report  that  "the  people  were  very  unsatisfied  among  them- 
selves as  to  a  place  for  the  meeting-house  to  stand  on." 
The  parish  had  as  many  as  five  places  under  consideration, — 
"Onion's  knovvl,  Onion's  bars,  ye  southerd  corner  of  ye  field 
call  ye  rye  field,  ye  south  end  of  ye  common  land  lying 
between  John  Cobb's  and  Doctor  Richard's,  and  ye  place 
where  it  now  stands,  according  to  ye  agreement."  At  a 
meeting  held  June  21,  at  the  request  of  the  committee  of 
the  General  Court,  the  parish  voted  to  build  on  the  south 
end  of  the  common  land ;  and  this  place  was  recommended 
by  the  committee  and  ordered  by  the  General  Court.  A 
location  having  been  decided  upon,  a  change  of  opinion 
seems  to  have  taken  place ;  and,  at  several  meetings  held 
during  the  summer  and  autumn,  it  was  voted  not  to  build 
upon  this  spot.  An  attempt  was  made  to  give  up  preaching 
services  until  the  question  of  location  was  finally  decided, 
but  this  was  voted  down  by  the  parish.  September  6,  it 
was  again  voted  to  build  on  the  common  land,  and  a  com- 
mittee of  two  was  appointed  to  purchase  the  frame  of  a 
meeting-house  standing  near  the  houses  of  Jonathan  Onion 
and  Joseph  Ellis,  if  it  could  be  had  on  reasonable  terms,  and 
remove  it  as  soon  as  possible  to  the  common  land.  In 
October,  this  action  was  negatived ;  and  it  was  decided  not 
to  raise  the  three  hundred  pounds  already  voted.  Decem- 
ber I,  the  parish  met  at  the  meeting-house  near  the  house  of 
Joseph  Ellis,  and  voted  "that  preaching  be  performed  in 
this  house  ye  next  quarter  of  a  year  ensuing  ye  date  hereof." 
March  20,  1732,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  build  a  meet- 
ing-house on  the  site  selected  by  the  General  Court.  At 
a  meeting  in  July  two  other  locations  were  voted  on  ;  but 
no  action  was  taken.  Dec.  5,  1732,  the  parish  met*  at  the 
house  of  Nathaniel  Guild. 

Tt  was  put  to  vote  if  it  be  ye  mind  of  ye  precinct  to  grant  ye  sum  of 
one  hundred  ai\d  twenty  pounds  of  money  to  support  preaching  in  said 
precinct  for  one  full  year  from  ye  date  hereof,  that  is,  such  a  part  of  ye 
time  in  ye  House  near  ye  house  of  Joseph  Ellis  in  said  precinct  and  no 


l8  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

longer  than  such  time  as  ye  house  near  ye  house  of  Benjamin  Fairbanks 
dwelling  house  set  up  by  James  Fales,  Junr.,  Simon  Pettee,  Ebenezer 
Dean  and  Ebenezer  Healy  be  inclosed  and  a  floor  be  laid  down  in  it, 
then  ye  remainder  of  ye  year  that  preaching  be  performed  in  ye  house 
last  expressed,  and  to  choose  a  committee  to  procure  a  minister,  and 
voted  in  the  affirmative. 

This  location  was  on  what  is  now  Prospect  Street  in  Nor- 
wood, near  Nahatan  Street,  to  the  west.  Succeeding  this, 
an  effort  was  made  to  purchase  the  house  near  Joseph  Ellis, 
and  to  use  it  in  completing  this  house.  The  General  Court 
was  also  asked  to  negative  its  former  decision  and  to  ap- 
prove of  the  Fairbanks  house. 

A  majority  of  the  parish  being  favorable  to  the  house 
near  Jonathan  Fairbanks's,  meetings  were  held  there,  and 
an  effort  was  made  to  establish  that  as  the  permanent  loca- 
tion. The  people  at  the  Clapboard  Trees  were  not  satisfied 
with  this  action,  and  carried  the  question  to  the  General 
Court.  Two  meeting-houses  had  been  erected  in  the  par- 
ish:  one  near  the  house  of  Joseph  Ellis,  in  173 1  ;  and  one 
near  the  house  of  Jonathan  Fairbanks,  in  1732.  Although 
these  houses  were  less  than  half  a  mile  apart,  they  did  not 
equally  accommodate  all  the  people  of  the  parish  ;  and  each 
locality  had  its  merits  to  those  who  lived  nearer  to  it  than 
to  the  other. 

The  building  of  two  meeting-houses  indicates  a  strong 
feeling  on  the  part  of  the  people,  and  a  determination  to  be 
accommodated  in  regard  to  location.  As  the  precinct  could 
not  have  two  churches,  and  no  compromise  being  possible, 
it  was  necessary  to  ask  for  a  decision  from  the  General 
Court.  When  that  body  was  appealed  to,  it  sent  out 
another  committee,  which  recommended  a  division  of  the 
precinct.  According  to  this  decision,  made  in  April,  1734, 
Joseph  Ellis,  the  two  Fishers,  Aaron  Ellis,  and  others,  resi- 
dent at  the  Clapboard  Trees,  with  their  estates,  were  **laid 
back  to  the  old  parish  "  ;  while  the  remainder  were  formed 
into  the  south  precinct,  which,  at  a  meeting  held  Feb.  9, 
1735,  voted  money  for  the  settlement  of  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Balch    and    a  salary    of   one    hundred    and    twenty  pounds. 


LOCATIN(J    THE    MEETING-HOUSE 


19 


Eight  persons  protested  against  this  action,  on  the  ground 
that  they  were  under  engagement  to  a  minister  already 
settled  in  the  Clapboard  Trees  parish;  and  these  persons 
were,  by  the  action  of  the  General  Court,  connected  with 
that  parish  at  their  request. 

The  General  Court  was  quite  in  error,  if  it  thought  this 
arrangement  would  cause  the  difficulties  to  cease.  The 
inhabitants  of  the  Clapboard  Trees  were  not  better  situated 
than  at  'first,  and  they  had  no  purpose  whatever  of  going 
back  to  the  first  parish.  What  they  wanted  was  a  meeting- 
house of  their  own,  within  easy  distance  of  their  own 
houses  ;  and  this  they  were  determined  to  get  as  soon  as 
possible.  Not  only  was  the  distance  from  the  old  meeting- 
house objected  to,  but  there  were  other  causes  of  dissatis- 
faction. The  minister  in  the  first  parish  at  that  time  was 
Samuel  Dexter,  who  was  extremely  puritanical  and  ascetic, 
and  who  was  possessed  with  little  of  the  spirit  of  tolera- 
tion. The  first  parish  was  torn  with  dissensions,  and  it  was 
in  a  constant  agitation  from  those  who  would  not  submit  to 
its  discipline.  Some  of  the  inhabitants  in  the  Clapboard 
Trees  remained  away  from  the  communion  service,  and  for 
this  they  were  cited  before  the  church.  One  or  more  of  the 
others  were  guilty  of  contentious  acts,  which  led  to  much 
controversy  and  the  calling  of  a  council.  All  these  causes 
had  the  effect  of  agitating  the  people  and  of  making  them 
more  resolute  for  having  a  meeting  of  their  own. 

At  the  very  next  meeting  of  the  first  precinct,  after  the 
people  in  the  Clapboard  Trees  had  been  returned  to  it  by 
order  of  the  General  Court,  held  May  14,  1735,  an  effort 
was  made  to  obtain  permission  to  worship  in  the  Clapboard 
Trees  meeting-house.  The  action  taken  is  thus  recorded  on 
the  first  parish  records  :  — 

Voted,  if  it  be  the  mind  of  the  precinct  to  give  them  consent  that 
such  and  no  more  of  this  precinct  as  now  meet  at  the  meeting  house 
near  Jonathan  Onion's  may  enjoy  Gospel  ordinances  there.  This  passed 
in  the  negative. 

In  September  of  the  same  year,  another  effort  was  made  to 
obtain  permission  to  legally  use  the  meeting-house  they  had 


20  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

built,  this  time  asking  that  two  ministers  be  supported  by 
the  parish.     The  vote  is  reported  as  follows  :  — 

A  request  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  place  called  Clapboard  Trees 
desires  they  might  be  dismissed  from  paying  anything  to  the  support 
of  the  Revd.  Mr.  Dexter,  or  otherwise  to  raise  the  taxes  for  the  support 
of  both  ministers  upon  the  whole  precinct.  The  Society  by  their  vote 
declared  for  the  negative. 

In  the  mean  time,  a  minister  had  been  secured  for  the 
Clapboard  Trees  meeting-house.  Having  a  minister  settled 
among  them,  and  preaching  to  them  every  Sunday,  was 
likely  to  help  their  cause,  at  least  with  the  General  Court. 
They  also  brought  their  demands  before  the  first  church, 
asking  for  a  dismission  to  form  a  new  church  in  their  own 
neio:hborhood.  The  action  of  the  church  can  be  best  under- 
stood  in  the  words  of  its  own  records  :  — 

May  iSth,  1735. —  A  letter  was  communicated  to  the  church  signed 
by  eight  of  the  brethren  who  dwell  in  or  near  that  part  of  the  town 
called  Clapboard  Trees,  the  purport  of  which  was  to  signify  to  the 
Church  their  intention  to  be  embodied  into  a  separate  Church  state,  and 
to  desire  a  dismission  for  that  purpose  ;  and  that  the  Church  by  the 
Elder  and  Messenger  would  assist  them  in  the  performance  of  said 
service,  and  in  the  installment  of  the  Revd.  Mr.  Dwight  over  them 
as   Pastor. 

Upon  which  the  following  vote  was  taken  :  — 

Brethren,  if  it  be  agreeable  to  you  to  give  a  dismission  to  our  breth- 
ren Thomas  Herring,  Nathanael  Gay,  Jonathan  Onion,  Lusher  Gay, 
Daniel  Fisher,  John  Bracket,  Joseph  Ellis  and  Ebenezar  Kingsbury  in 
order  to  their  being  gathered  into  a  Church  state  separate  from  us  — 
as  they  have  signified  it  to  be  their  desire  in  a  written  instrument  which 
hath  now  been  read  to  you  —  please  to  signify  it  by  your  uplifted 
hands.     Passed  in  negative. 

After  which  it  was  signified  to  the  Church  that  their  having  nega- 
tived the  first  request,  rendered  it  needless  to  offer  to  them  the  second ; 
and  it  was  farther  signified  to  the  Church  that  it  was  expected  that  the 
brethren  would  prosecute  the  separation  from  us,  and  the  intended 
installment.  For  which  purposes  they  might  have  a  Council  on  the 
spot  the  next  Wednesday. 

The  church  then  voted  to  appoint  a  committee,  consisting 
of  the  pastor,  the  deacons,  and  three  others,  to  give  their 
reasons  to  the  churches  for  refusing  to  dismiss  the  members 


LOCATING    THE    MKETING-IIOUSK  21 

living  at  the  Clapboard  Trees  to  form  a  new  church.  The 
reasons  presented  by  this  co.mmittee  are  not  L;iven  in  the 
church  book.  Five  days  later,  the  churcli  decided  iiot  to 
send  delegates  to  the  ecclesiastical  council  held  in  the 
Clapboard  Trees  meeting-house ;  but  in  June  the  action 
then  taken  was  recorded  in  these  words  :  — 

A  Council  of  five  Churches,  viz.,  the  Church  of  Medfiekl,  the  Church 
of  Brookline,  the  Church  of  Hingham,  the  Church  of  Mihon,  and 
the  Church  of  Natick,  convened  at  the  Clapboard  Trees  upon  the 
request  of  the  Brethren  petitioners  for  a  dismission;  and  on  the  4th  of 
June  they  embodied  them  into  a  distinct  and  separate  Church,  except- 
ing John  (lay,  who  is  continued  under  the  administration  of  our  Church, 
and  Ebenezar  Kingsbury,  who  belongs  to  the  South  Church ;  and  four 
others,  that  were  not  in  Church  fellowship,  were  allowed  to  embody  with 
those  Brethren;  viz.,  Maj.  Joseph  Ellis,  John  Baker,  Benjamin  Fair- 
banks and  John  Richards. 

In  regard  to  the  action  of  the  first  church  in  calling 
several  of  its  members  to  account  for  not  attending  com- 
munion, it  is  to  be  remembered  that  they  lived  at  the 
Clapboard  Trees,  and  that  they  were  seeking  to  form  a 
church  of  their  own.  It  cannot  be  said  that  the  action  of 
either  party  to  this  controversy  was  justifiable.  It  is  a  good 
illustration  of  the  constant  difficulties  arising  in  the  New 
England  churches  throughout  the  eighteenth  century,  owing 
to  the  repressive  spirit  which  sought  to  keep  men  within 
the  closest  bounds.  Every  act  of  men  was  brought  under 
the  scrutiny  of  church  or  town  authorities,  and  they  were 
subjected  to  very  exacting  regulations.  At  this  very  time, 
the  selectmen  in  Dedham*were  in  the  habit  of  ordering  all 
persons  coming  into  the  town  to  leave  it  at  once,  if  they 
had  any  thought  they  were  not  of  good  character  or  incapa- 
ble of  supporting  themselves.  This  disposition  to  suppress 
independent  action  was  galling  to  many,  and  was  not  easily 
submitted  to  by  not  a  few.  The  spirit  of  political  and 
religious  independence  was  growing,  and  manifested  itself 
in  many  ways. 

Another  source  of  difficulty  in  this  case,  as  in  many 
others  at  this  time,  was  the  connection  of  Church  and  State. 


22 


THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 


The  churches  were  supported  by  the  towns  ;  and  a  tax  was 
levied  on  all  persons  living  in  the  town,  as  in  the  case  of 
other  taxes.  Not  only  was  this  the  case,  but  persons  not 
attending  church  were  fined.  These  regulations  had  al- 
ready begun  to  be  a  source  of  trouble,  for  there  was  an  in- 
creasing number  of  persons  who  felt  them  to  be  oppressive 
and  unjust.  As  in  the  present  case,  they  helped  to  create 
hard  feeling,  to  make  one  party  oppressive  and  the  other 
contentious  and  rebellious,  and  to  rend  the  churches  with 
the  bitterest  controversies  about  matters  of  trivial  impor- 
tance.    On  the  one  hand  was  felt  the  need  of  a  strono-  rule 


WHERE   DR.    CUTLER    PREACHED   IN    1731 


in  behalf  of  purity  and  good  order,  and  on  the  other  was 
manifested  a  growing  spirit  of  manly  independence.  Both 
were  right,  but  they  were  not  brought  together  in  the  best 
manner. 

It  has  been  stated  by  some  of  those  who  have  written  on 
the  early  history  of  the  western  part  of  Dedham,  that  the 
first  religious  services  held  in  that  part  of  the  town  were 
after  the  order  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  were  con- 
ducted in  the  house  of  Joseph  Smith,  on  what  is  now  Sum- 
mer Street,  in  1731.  It  is  quite  certain  that  those  church 
services  were  not  the  first  gatherings  for  public  worship 
held  in  West  Dedham.     Those  at  the  house  of  John  Ellis 


LOCATING    THE    MKKTING-IIOUSE  23 

certainly  were  earlier,  and  those  in  the  Clapboard  Trees 
meeting-house  preceded  them  by  some  months.  It  is  inter- 
esting to  note,  however,  that  the  Church  of  England  services 
began  in  this  part  of  the  town.  They  were  conducted  by 
the  Rev.  'Timothy  Cutler,  D.D.,  a  graduate  of  Harvard 
College,  who  was  employed  by  tlie  London  Society  for  the 
Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts.  He  came  to 
Dedham  at  the  desire  of  a  few  Churchmen  and  of  some 
"dissenters  willing  to  be  informed,"  and  had  a  monthly 
congregation  of  from  forty  to  fifty  persons.  He  continued 
his  services  until  Christmas,  1733,  and  occasionally  for  a 
short  time  longer.  Though  the  Episcopal  church  began 
thus  early  in  West  Dedham,  it  never  gained  any  foothold, 
and  was  afterwards  continued  in  the  vicinity  of  the  first 
parish  meeting-house. 

Having  secured  their  meeting-house  and  minister,  and  get- 
ting no  favor  from  the  first  parish  and  church,  the  next  step 
for  the  people  in  the  Clapboard  Trees  was  to  appeal  to  the 
General  Court.  This  they  did  immediately  after  the  instal- 
lation of  their  minister ;  for  their  petition  asking  for  a  sepa- 
rate precinct  was  presented  to  the  General  Court  June  22, 
1735,  and  appears  on  the  ''Journal  of  the  Honourable  House 
of  Representatives  of  His  Majesty's  Province  of  Massachu- 
setts-Bay in  New  England,"  as  follows  :  — 

A  petition  of  Jonathan  Ellis  and  Jedediah  Tucker,  and  thirty  others, 
inhabitants  of  Dedham,  and  of  that  part  of  the  Town  called  the  Clab- 
board  Trees,  praying  that  for  as  much  as  the  Court  have  set  them  off 
from  the  South  Precinct  there,  as  well  as  the  North,  that  a  committee  of 
this  Court  may  be  appointed  to  repair  to  that  part  of  Dedham  called  the 
Clabboard  Trees,  and  in  order  to  adjust  matters,  and  prevent  differences 
between  them  and  the  other  Precincts,  notifying  all  concerned  of  the 
time  and  place  of  meeting,  and  that  the  said  Committee  may  be  impow- 
red  to  delineate  certain  bounds  and  lines  whereby  they  may  be  circum- 
scribed, and  that  they  may  be  also  invested  with  equal  Powers  Priviliges 
&  Immunities  with  any  other  Precinct  or  Parish;  which  accompanied 
a  Petition  of  Mr.  Byfield  Lyde  praying  that  his  Farm  in  said  Town  of 
Dedham  may  belong  to  and  accounted  as  part  of  the  Clabboard  Tree 
Precinct.  Read  and  Ordered,  That  the  Petitioners  serve  the  North  and 
South  Precincts  in  Dedham  with  Copies  of  these  Petitions,  that  they 
may  show  cause,  if  any  they  have,  on  the  first  Thursday  of  the  next  sit- 


24  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

ting  of  the  Court,  why  the  prayer  thereof  should  not  be  granted,  and  the 
Petitions  are  referred  in  the  meantime  for  Consideration. 

This  petition  was  taken  up  in  the  Council  November  26, 
when  it  was  read  a  second  time  in  connection  with  the  an- 
swers of  the  north  and  south  precincts.     The  Council  then 

Ordered^  That  the  prayer  of  the  Petition  be  so  far  granted  as  that 
Joseph  Wilder,  Esq ;  with  such  as  the  honourable  House  of  Representa- 
tives shall  join  be  a  Committee  to  repair  to  the  Place  Petitioned  for  to 
be  a  Precinct  and  view  the  same,  and  consider  the  Circumstances  thereof, 
and  hear  the  Parties  for  and  against  the  Petition,  and  report  as  soon  as 
may  be,  what  may  be  proper  for  this  Court  to  do  thereon,  the  Committee 
to  give  seasonable  Notice  of  the  time  of  their  going,  and  the  Charge 
thereof  to  be  paid  as  this  Court  shall  order. 

This  was  read  in  the  House  November  30,  and  concurred 
with.  The  committee  appointed  consisted  of  Joseph  Wilder 
of  the  Council,  and,  from  the  House,  of  James  Warren  of 
Plymouth  and  Eleazer  Porter  of  Hadley.  After  this  com- 
mittee had  been  to  Dedham  and  attended  to  their  duties,  they 
made  report  of  the  conclusion  arrived  at  by  them  :  — 

The  Committee  having  been  on  the  Land  petitioned  for  to  be  a  Pre- 
cinct, viewed  the  same,  considered  the  Circumstances  thereof,  and  heard 
the  Parties  for  and  against  the  Prayer  of  the  Petition,  are  humbly  of 
Opinion,  That  the  Prayer  of  the  Petition  be  so  far  granted,  as  that  a  Line 
be  run  from  the  House  of  Richard  Ellis  Northeasterly  to  the  Center  or 
Midway  betwixt  the  Meeting  House  in  the  South  Precinct  and  in  the 
Clabboard  Trees,  and  from  thence  to  the  House  of  Ebenezer  Ellis,  and 
from  thence  to  the  Crossways  so  called,  and  be  established  as  a  divi- 
sional Line  betwixt  the  South  Precinct  in  Dedham  and  that  of  the  Clab- 
board Trees,  and  that  the  Land  lying  betwixt  that  and  the  Line  formerly 
made  and  settled  betwixt  the  North  and  South  Precincts,  with  the 
Inhabitants  thereon,  with  the  Families  and  their  Estates  that  have  been 
formerly  set  to  them  by  this  Court  out  of  the  North  Precinct  in  said 
Dedham,  as  also  the  Family  and  Estate  of  Benjamin  Fairbank,  and  such 
Part  of  the  Estates  of  Richard  Ellis,  Ebenezer  Ellis  and  Eliphalet  Pond, 
lying  in  Dedham,  that  may  fall  to  the  Southward  of  the  first  mentioned 
Line,  be  erected  into  a  separate  Precinct,  &  have  Parish  Powers  &  Priv- 
iliges  granted  to  them,  saving  the  Families,  Persons  &  Estates  hereafter 
named,  that  may  fall  within  the  bounds  of  the  Parish  above  delineated, 
viz.  Ebenezer  Bracket,  Nathanael  Kingsbury,  Amos  Fisher,  and  Jonah 
Fisher,  who  are  still  continued  to  the  North  Precinct  in  Dedham,  to  do 
Duty  and  receive  Privilege,  and  William  Bullard,  Nathan  Lewis,  Samuel 


LOCATING    THE    MEETING-HOUSE  25 

Farrington,  and  John  Cobb,  who  belong  to  the  South  Precinct,  and  are 
still  to  continue  to  do  Duty  and  receive  Privilege  with  them  as  hereto- 
fore, neither  is  this  to  be  understood  any  ways  to  alter  the  Order  of  this 
Court  formerly  made,  which  obliges  a  Number  of  Families  belonging  to 
the  Ciabboard  Trees,  to  pay  to  the  South  Precinct  for  a  term  of  Years. 
The  Committee  are  also  of  the  Opinion  that  the  Petition  of  Byfield 
Lyde,  Esq;  be  dismissed.  All  which  is  humbly  submitted,  in  the  Name 
and  by  Order  of  the  Committee,  Joskph  Wilder. 

This  report  was  passed  in  the  Council  Jan.  i,  1736,  and 
was  read  and  accepted  in  the  House  on  the  lOth.  By  this 
action  of  the  House,  the  report  of  the  committee  went  into 
effect  on  that  day. 

For  a  considerable  period  after  its  formation,  the  Clapboard 
Trees  was  called  the  second  parish.  It  was  so  designated 
on  the  records  and  on  the  printed  sermons  of  its  earlier  min- 
isters. This  probably  arose  from  the  fact  that  the  church 
in  the  west  parish  was  organized  earlier  than  that  in  the 
south  parish,  though  the  reverse  was  the  case  with  regard  to 
the  precinct  organization.  By  the  end  of  the  century,  it  was 
designated  as  the  third  parish.  The  parish  records,  however, 
used  the  name  Clapboard  Trees  (so  written  at  first).  The 
village  of-  West  Dedham  was  designated  as  "the  street"  or 
as  Cudham^  as  the  south  parish  was  usually  called  Tiot. 

In  his  History  of  Norzvood,  Mr.  Tinker  says  that  in  1736 
seventy-eight  persons  were  assessed  in  Tiot  and  fifty-two  at 
the  Clapboard  Trees. 


III. 


REV.    JOSIAH    DWIGHT,    THE    FIRST    MINISTER. 

After  so  long  a  struggle,  the  people  at  the  Clapboard 
Trees  had  secured  the  desire  of  their  hearts,  a  meeting-house 
and  a  church  of  their  own.  Now  began  the  process  of  build- 
ing up  their  parish,  completing  their  meeting-house,  and 
establishing  their  church  life.  The  destruction  of  the  church 
records  by  fire  in  1879,  when  the  house  then  used  as  a  par- 
sonage was  burned,  makes  it  impossible  to  trace  the  history 
of  the  church  as  a  distinct  organization.  Much  might  have 
been  gleaned  from  them  about  the  early  history  of  the  church 
and  parish.  In  a  sermon  preached  on  the  second  Sunday  of 
the  year  1801,  Mr.  Thacher  said  that  "the  church  records 
previous  to  his  settlement  in  this  place,  were  in  a  very  imper- 
fect state";  but  they  would  have  given  us  much  of  interest 
that  we  can  only  guess  at  now.  How  the  church  was  organ- 
ized we  do  not  know  ;  but  its  first  deacons  were  Jonathan 
Onion  and  Joseph  Ellis,  the  two  men  who  had  been  most 
active  in  its  formation,  and  who  both  lived  under  the  very 
shadow  of  the  meeting-house.  Mr.  White  printed,  in  an 
appendix  to  his  Centennial  Sermon  of  1836,  the  Covenant  of 
the  church,  otherwise  it  would  have  been  lost.  It  shows  a 
liberal  spirit  for  the  time  in  which  it  was  written,  and  it  con- 
tains but  little  of  that  abstract  theology  which  usually  forms 
the  substance  of  creeds.  It  is  a  practical  statement  of  a 
working  Christianity,  in  the  phraseology  then  common,  and 
has  an  aim  towards  righteousness  and  godly  living  rather 
than  in  the  direction  of  doctrine.  It  deserves  to  be  repro- 
duced here  as  a  part  of  the  history  of  the  church,  with  the 
names  of  the  original  signers  :  — 

We,  whose  names  are  hereunto  subscribed,  apprehending  ourselves 
called  of  God  into  a  sacred  fellowship  with  one  another  in  the  profes- 


REV.    JOSIAH    DWIGIIT,    THE    FIRST    MINISTER  2J 

sion  and  practice  of  the  holy  Christian  Religion,  as  a  particular  church 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  do  solemnly  covenant  with  God  and  one 
another,  as  follows :  In  the  first  place,  we  avouch  the  Lord  this  day  to 
be  our  God,  yielding  ourselves  to  him  to  be  his  servants,  and  choosing 
him  to  be  our  portion  forever.  We  give  up  ourselves  to  the  God  whose 
name  alone  is  Jehovah  and  is  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost,  to  be 
his  people,  to  walk  in  his  ways,  and  to  keep  his  statutes  and  his  com- 
mandments and  his  judgments,  and  to  hearken  unto  his  voice,  declar- 
ing our  firm  assent  to  tlie  truths  and  hearty  consent  to  the  tenor  of  the 
Gospel.  We  accept  of  Jesus  Christ  in  all  his  glorious  offices.  Propheti- 
cal, Priestly  and  Kingly  — and  depend  on  him  in  the  way,  which  he  hath 
prescribed  for  instruction,  Pardon  and  Eternal  life.  We  profess  our 
serious  resolution  to  deny,  as  the  grace  of  God  teaches,  all  ungodliness, 
and  every  worldly  lust,  and  to  live  soberly,  righteously  and  piously  in 
the  present  evil  world,  to  endeavor  that  our  conversation  may  be,  as 
becomes  and  adorns  the  Gospel.  We  promise,  by  the  help  of  God's 
grace,  to  walk  together  in  all  the  ways  of  holy  communion,  as  becomes 
children  in  the  family  of  Christ:  charitably  to  support  and  conscien- 
tiously to  attend  the  public  worship  of  God  in  all  the  instituted  duties 
thereof,  and  to  submit  to  the  discipline  of  his  kingdom,  to  watch  over 
one  another  with  Christian  circumspection,  and  endeavor  our  mutual 
edification  and  comfort.  Further-more,  we  dedicate  our  offspring  with 
ourselves  to  the  Lord,  engaging  to  bring  them  up  in  His  nurture  and 
admonition,  and  as  far  as  in  us  lies  transmit  the  ordinances  of  God  pure 
and  entire  to  them. 

ALL  THIS  we  do  in  the  presence  and  fear  of  God,  with  a  deep 
sense  of  our  own  unworthiness  to  be  admitted  into  covenant  with  him 
and  to  enjoy  the  priviliges  of  the  evangelical  Church  State,  and  our 
own  insufficiency  to  perform  the  duties  of  it.  And  do  therefore  rely  on, 
and  pray  to  the  God  of  Grace  and  Peace,  that  brought  again  from  the 
dead  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  great  Shepherd  of  the  sheep,  through 
the  blood  of  the  everlasting  covenant,  to  m.ake  us  perfect  in  every  good 
work,  to  do  his  will,  working  in  us  that,  which  is  well  pleasing  in  his 
sight  through  Jesus  Christ,  to  whom  be  glory  forever  and  ever.     Amen. 

Josiah  Dwight,  Joseph  Ellis, 

Thomas  Herring,  John  Brackett, 

Daniel  Fisher,  Joseph  Ellis,  2nd., 

John  Gay,  John  Baker, 

Nathaniel  Gay,  John  Richards, 

Lusher  Gay,  Benjamin  Fairbanks. 
Jonathan  Onion, 


These  persons  included  less  than  one-third  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  parish.     The  first  assessment  roll,  made  in  the 


28  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

spring  of  1737,  contained  forty-three  names,  as  follows: 
Lieut.  John  Baker,  Eliphalet  Baker,  John  Baker,  Jr.,  Tim- 
othy Baker,  Jeremiah  Baker,  Samuel  Badcock,  Ensign 
Joseph  Colburn,  Ephraim  Colburn,  Samuel  Colburn,  Joseph 
Dean,  Antony  Dier,  Jeremiah  Dean,  Joseph  Ellis,  Jonathan 
Ellis,  Deacon  Joseph  Ellis,  Aaron  Ellis,  William  Ellis, 
Ebenezer  Ellis,  Samuel  Everet,  Daniel  Fisher,  Widow  Han- 
nah Fisher,  Benjamin  Fairbanks,  Nathaniel  Gay,  Lusher 
Gay,  John  Gay,  Stephen  Gay,  Daniel  Gay,  John  Gay  Tayler, 
Thomas  Herring,  Samuel  Herring,  Samuel  Haws,  John 
Haws,  Jr.,  Ebenezer  Lewis,  Elisha  Pike,  John  MacNab, 
Deacon  Jonathan  Onion,  Peter  Tompson,  Jedediah  Tucker, 
Lieut.  Jabez  Pond,  Eliphalet  Pond,  John  Richards,  Joseph 
Richards,  Josiah  Whitemore.  Within  the  next  ten  years 
appeared  the  names  of  Kingsbury,  Belcher,  Campbell, 
Draper,  Pilcher,  Cheever,  Buckmaster,  Whiting,  and  Cham- 
berlain. These  names  are  here  spelled  as  they  appear  on 
the  records  of  the  parish.  It  may  also  be  added,  that  the 
names  of  the  first  members  of  the  church  were  preserved 
by  Mr.  Thacher  in  connection  with  his  sermon  on  the  his- 
tory of  the  church  and  parish  published  in  1801. 

The  records  of  the  parish  were  written  in  a  simple,  direct, 
and  manly  fashion.  The  first  clerk  was  an  educated  man, 
a  graduate  of  Harvard  College.  He  wrote  down  only 
what  was  legally  the  result  of  each  meeting ;  but  we  are 
sometimes  able  to  read  between  his  lines,  and  to  guess  at 
more  than  he  directly  tells  us.  As  a  specimen  of  his  work, 
and  as  showing  just  what  the  records  contain,  the  first  two 
or  three  pages  may  be  transcribed  verbatim.  The  spelling, 
punctuation,  and  use  of  capital  letters  have  been  carefully 
preserved;  but  it  ought  to  be  said  that  the  manner  of 
writing  the  names  of  committees,  and  other  details,  make 
the  absence  of  punctuation  seem  less  unfitting  on  the  writ- 
ten than   it  does  on  the  printed  page. 

Dedham  February  ye   14th   1737. 
Att  a  Precinct  Meeting  warned  as  the   Law  directs    The   Precinct 
chose  Lieut  John   Baker  Moderator  Joseph  Richards  Clerk  &  sworn. 
Joseph  Ellis  Lieut  John  Baker  Joseph  Richards  Precinct  Comttee. 


REV.    JOSIAH    DWIGIIT,    THE    I'lKST    MINISTER  2g 

r  It  was  put  to  the  Precinct  whether  they  would  grant  Money 
towards  finishing  their  Meeting  House,  <S:  it  passed  in  the  Affirm  : 

2  It  was  put  to  the  Precinct  whether  they  would  grant  one  Hundred 
and  twenty  Pounds  towards  finishing  their  Meeting  House  passed  in 
the  Affirm : 

3  The  Precinct  chose  Lieut.  John  Baker  Lusher  Gay  Joseph  Rich- 
ards a  Committee  to  lay  out  the  above  granted  Money  on  ye  House. 

Dedham  March  ye   ist.   1737 

Att  a  Precinct  Meeting  in  the  ClapboardTrees  warned  as  the  Law 
directs.  The  Inhabitants  Met  &:  chose  Lieut.  John  Baker  Moderator 
Joseph  Richards  Precinct  Clerk  Joseph  Ellis  Lieut  John  Baker  Joseph 
Richards  Precinct  Comttee  &  Assessors  &  Sworn  as  the  Law  directs 
Joseph  Ellis  Junr.  Precinct  Treasurer  &  Sworn  John  Richards  Precinct 
Collector  &  Sworn 

1  It  was  put  to  the  Precinct  whether  they  would  buy  the  House  the 
Revd.  Mr.  Dwight  now  lives  in  for  a  Parrish  House  it  passed  in  the 
Affirmative. 

2  It  was  put  to  the  Precinct  whether  they  would  grant  the  Sum  of 
one  Hundred  &  ten  Pounds  for  to  buy  sd  House,  it  passed  in  the  Affirm- 
ative 

3  It  was  put  to  the  Precinct  whether  they  would  choose  a  Comttee 
to  examin  Accounts  about  sd  House  &  lay  out  sd  Money  on  sd  House 
It  passed  in  the  Affirmative 

4  Nathl  Gay  Ensign  Joseph  Colburn  Joseph  Richards  a  Comttee 
chose  to  examin  sd  accts  &  lay  out  sd  Money 

5  It  was  put  to  the  Precinct  if  it  were  their  Mind  to  grant  fifteen 
Pounds  to  pay  the  Gen :  Courts  Comttee  &  buy  a  Law  Book  &  Precinct 
Book.     It  passed  in  the  Affirmative 

Dedham  June  27th.    1737 

Att  a  Precinct  Meeting  in  the  ClapboardTrees  warned  according  to 
Law:  The  Inhabitants  met  &  chose  Lieut.  John  Baker  Moderator  of  sd 
Meeting 

1  It  was  put.  if  it  be  the  Mind  of  the  Precinct  to  make  all  the 
Money's  granted  in  sd  Precinct  by  the  last  years  Tax  Bill  passed  in 
the  Affirmative 

2  To  see  if  it  be  the  Mind  of  the  Precinct  that  all  the  Money's 
granted  in  sd.  Precinct  be  made  in  one  Rate,     passed  in  Affirm. 

3  To  see  if  it  be  the  Mind  of  the  Precinct  to  do  anyThing  towards 
diging  a  well  for  the  Precinct  House     passed  in  the  Affirm: 

!»  ^'4   To  see  if  it  be  the    Mind  of   the  Precinct  to  grant  ten   Pounds 
towards  digging  sd  well,     passed  in  Affirmative 

5  The  Precinct  made  choise  of  Deacon  Onion  to  lay  out  sd  ten 
Pounds  in  digging  sd  Well 


30  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

Dedham  March  3d,  1738 
Att  a  Precinct  Meeting  in  the  ClapboardTree  Precinct  warned 
according  to  Law.  The  Inhabitants  met  &  chose  Lieut.  John  Baker 
Moderator  of  sd.  Meeting.  Joseph  Richards  Precinct  Clerk  &  sworn 
att  the  same  Time  by  the  Moderator  of  sd.  Meeting  Joseph  Ellis  John 
Baker  Joseph  Ellis  Junr.  Comttee.  &  Assessors  &  Sworn  as  the  Law 
directs  Stephen  Gay  Collector  &  sworn  att  the  same  Time  by  the  Clerk 
Joseph  Ellis  Junr.  Treasurer.  &  sworn 

Dedham  April   17th.   1738 
Att  a  Precinct  Meeting  in  the  ClapboardTree  Precinct  warned  ac- 
cording to   Law.      The    Inhabitants    met   &  chose    Lieut.  John  Baker 
Moderator  of  sd.  Meeting. 

1.  It  was  put ;  to  see  if  it  be  the  Mind  of  the  Precinct  to  grant  Lib- 
erty to  those  Inhabitants  of  sd.  Precinct  as  inclined  to  build  their  own 
Pews  att  their  own  Cost  &  Charge,     passed  in  the  Affirmative. 

2.  To  see  if  it  be  the  Mind  of  the  Precinct  That  the  Inhabitants  of 
sd.  Precinct  that  incline  to  build  their  own  Pews  shall  make  Choise 
of  their  Place  to  build  upon  (successively)  beginning  with  the  highest  in 
the  last  single  Rate     passed  in  the  Affirmative 

3.  It  was  put ;  if  it  be  the  Mind  of  the  Precinct  to  grant  eighty  Pounds 
of   Money  towards   finishing   the   Precinct    Meeting  House   passed   in 

Affirmative. 

Dedham  July  ye  5th.   1738 
Att  a  Meeting  in  the  ClapboardTree  Precinct  warned  according  to 
Law ;  The  Inhabitants  met  &  chose  Lieut.  John  Baker  Moderator  of  sd 
Meeting. 

1  It  was  put  to  see  if  it  be  the  Mind  of  the  Precinct  that  Messr. 
Natll.  Colburn  Richard  Ellis  Ebenr.  Kingsberry  Danll.  Draper  &  Timo- 
thy Draper  may  vote  in  any  affair  relating  to  Pews,  passed  in  the 
Affirmative. 

2  To  see  if  it  be  the  Mind  of  the  Precinct  that  the  Liberty  granted 
to  the  Inhabitants  of  this  Parrish  to  build  Pews  att  their  own  Cost  & 
Charge  should  run  to  them  &  their  Wives  dureing  both  their  natural 
Lives  &  then  to  return  to  the  Precinct  for  regulation,  the  Precinct  first 
paying  the  Prime  Cost  to  the  Heirs  of  the  deceased  passed  in  the 
Affirm  : 

3  To  see  if  it  be  the  Mind  of  the  Precinct  to  grant  twenty  Pounds  of 
Money  to  be  added  to  the  eighty  Pounds  already  granted  towards  finish- 
ing their  Meeting  House     passed  in  the  Affirm  : 

4  To  see  if  it  be  the  Mind  of  the  Precinct  by  vote  to  make  the 
House  they  now  Meet  in  for  publick  Worship  their  own  passed  in  the 
Affirm  :  ^ 

The  first  meeting  of  the  parish  of  which  there  is  a  record 
was  held  Feb.  14,  1737,  when  the  precinct  voted  to  finish 


REV.    JOSIAH    DWIGfIT,    THE    FIRST    MINISJ'ER  31 

the  meeting--hoiise,  which  was  at  this  time  nothing  but  a 
frame  covered  with  boards,  and  without  pews.  The  vote 
with  reference  to  the  possession  of  the  meeting-house  by  the 
parish  may  refer  to  the  legal  action  necessary  in  order  to 
secure  its  ownership  by  the  parish  or  it  may  refer  to  its  pur- 
chase from  individuals,  but  pj:obably  the  former,  as  there  is 
no  other  mention  of  the  subject  and  no  money  was  voted  for 
buying  it.  For  several  years,  the  meeting-house  was  a  sub- 
ject of  much  thought  and  labor  to  the  members  of  the  par- 
ish. What  they  did  is  not  very  interesting  in  itself,  but  it 
will  help  to  bring  before  us  one  side  of  the  life  of  that  time. 
In  April,  1738,  it  was  voted  to  give  the  inhabitants  the  privi- 
lege of  building  their  own  pews,  the  highest  bidder  having  the 
first  choice  as  to  locality.  This  would  indicate  the  democratic 
character  of  the  parish,  for  in  some  other  parishes  at  this 
time  the  people  were  rigidly  seated  according  to  their  social 
rank.  In  September  of  the  same  year,  they  voted  to  build 
four  seats  on  each  side  of  the  meeting-house  "for  their  pres- 
ent use  and  service,"  and  to  build  a  pair  of  stairs  into  the 
gallery.  In  1739,  it  was  voted  to  pay  for  the  pew  in  which 
Mrs.  Dwight  sat,  and  to  build  a  pair  of  stairs  up  gallery,  and 
lay  down  the  gallery  floor,  and  finish  the  fore  seats  all  round. 
In  1740,  the  finishing  of  the  pews  and  the  completion  of  the 
gallery  again  claimed  much  of  the  attention  of  the  parish 
meeting. 

The  land  on  which  the  first  meeting-house  was  located 
was  given  by  Joseph  Ellis,  who  lived  on  the  spot  where  the 
house  of  Col.  James  M.  Ellis  now  stands.  It  was  forty-four 
rods  in  extent,  and  was  surveyed  and  plotted  in  1754.  The 
house  of  Jonathan  Onion  stood  near  where  the  barn  of  Mr. 
Greenwood  Fuller  is  now  located.  The  meeting-house  was 
half  way  between  these  two  houses,  but  more  to  the  west, 
on  land  now  occupied  by  an  orchard.  On  his  first  coming 
to  live  in  the  parish,  Mr.  Dwight  occupied  a  house  which 
stood  where  the  house  of  Greenwood  Fuller  is  now  located  ; 
and  tradition  has  it  that  the  present  house  contains  a  part  of 
the  old  one.  At  its  second  meeting,  held  March  3,  1737, 
the  parish  voted  one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds  to  buy  this 


32  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  .  PARISH 

for  a  parish  house.  At  this  time  or  very  soon  after,  ten 
acres  of  land  were  bought  from  Jonathan  Onion,  which  he 
described  as  "  near  my  own  dwelling  on  the  northerly  side  of 
the  road  leading  to  Pond  Plain."  He  gave  one  and  one-half 
acres  to  the  parish  ;  one  acre  each  was  paid  for  by  Joseph 
Ellis,  Thomas  Herring,  Daniel  Fisher,  Nathaniel  Gay, 
Lusher  Gay,  John  Gay,  Jr.,  Benjamin  Fairbanks,  and  John 
Richards  ;  one-quarter  of  an  acre  by  Joseph  Ellis,  Jr. ;  and 
ten  rods  each  by  Dr.  Joseph  Richards,  Timothy  Richards, 
Samuel  Richards,  Josiah  D wight,  and  Michael  D wight.* 
The  house  was  located  on  the  southerly  side  of  this  land. 
The  plot  made  of  this  piece  of  land  at  the  time  still  exists 
among  the  parish  papers,  and  has  been  reproduced  in  f(7c- 
similc  for  this  work,  but  somewhat  reduced  in  size.  In 
1740,  the  land  was  fenced  by  the  parish. 

The  first  minister,  Josiah  Dwight,  was  born  in  Dedham, 
Feb.  8,  1670,  and  was  over  sixty-four  years  of  age  when  he 
began  his  work  in  the  parish.  His  father  was  Capt.  Timo- 
thy Dwight,  who  was  one  of  the  leading  men  of  the  town,  of 
the  second  generation.  He  was  born  in  England,  and  came 
to  Dedham  with  his  father,  John  Dwight,  when  a  boy;  He 
was  for  ten  years  town  clerk,  twenty-five  years  selectman, 
and  in  the  General  Court  for  tw^o  years.  He  was  a  man  of 
great  energy  and  influence.  Four  of  his  sons,  Nathaniel, 
Josiah,  Henry,  and  Michael,  have  had  long  lines  of  descend- 
ants, who  are  found  in  every  part  of  the  country,  and  in 
places  of  responsibility  and  trust.  The  many  professors, 
teachers,  clergymen,  and  authors  of  the  Dwight  name  are 
the  descendants  of  Nathaniel  and  Henry. 

The  eighth  child  of  Capt.  Timothy  Dwight,  there  being 
fourteen  in  all,  received  his  early  education  at  home,  gradu- 
ated from  Harvard  in  1687,  obtaining  his  second  degree  in 
1720.  In  the  summer  of  1690,  he  was  installed  as  the  first 
minister  of  Woodstock,  Conn.,  that  town  being  owned  by 
Roxbury  and  under  Massachusetts  laws.  The  town  was  a 
new  one,  the  people  not  numerous  or  wealthy.     A  church 

*This  was  a  brother  of  the  Rev.  Josiah  Dwight,  being  the  son  of  Capt.  Timothy  D.vight 
by  his  third  wife. 


REV.    JOSIAII    DWIGIIT,    THE    FIRST    MINISTER  33 

was  built  in  1699,  but  his  salary  was  small  and  not 
promptly  paid.  He  was  paid  his  salary  partly  in  land,  which 
he  cultivated,  and  thus  gave  offence  to  some  of  his  parish. 
He  was  sometimes  hasty  in  speech,  and  did  not  always 
refrain  from  using  sharp  words ;  and  a  gradual  feeling  of 
opposition  to  him  was  developed.  He  was  voted  more  sal- 
ary in  1730,  and  it  was  hinted  to  him  that  he  should  give 
more  time  to  his  parish.  Some  years  of  bitter  contention 
followed,  and  then  he  asked  to  be  dismissed.  At  a  town 
meeting  in  1726,  he  acknowledged  his  faults,  and  promised 
to  amend  them  ;  but  the  town  voted,  sixty  to  one,  and  one 
neutral,  that  his  labors  would  not  be  any  longer  to  the  profit 
of  the  people.  In  September,  1726,  he  was  dismissed,  after 
a  pastorate  of  more  than  thirty-six  years.  He  then  went  to 
live  in  Thompson,  Conn.  The  neighboring  churches,  believ- 
ing he  had  not  been  justly  dealt  with,  took  up  his  cause  and 
called  a  council ;  none  of  the  charges  against  him  were 
proven.  He  admitted  rashness  of  speech  and  want  of  meek- 
ness in  some  cases,  but  this  seems  to  have  been  the  extent 
of  his  errors. 

After  leaving  the  Clapboard  Trees,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
two,  Mr.  Dwight  returned  to  Thompson,  where  he  died  in 
1748,  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven.  His  son-in-law,  the  Rev. 
Marston  Cabot,  was  the  minister  in  Thompson ;  and  in  his 
genial  society  the  last  days  of  Mr.  Dwight  were  cheerfully 
spent.  He  was  a  man  of  a  positive  character,  much  energy 
of  will,  a  good  preacher,  and  somewhat  singular  in  manner. 
He  was  not  always  wise  and  discreet,  used  too  sharp  a 
tongue,  and  was  inclined  to  contend  for  his  own  rights. 
Mr.  Thacher  said  that  he  "  was  supposed  by  his  contempo- 
raries to  be  a  man  of  good  natural  abilities  and  considerable 
acquirements  in  ancient  learning.  He  was  well  versed  in 
old  school  divinity,  and  was  respected  by  the  more  enlight- 
ened, as  a  scholar  and  a  gentleman.  Though  a  man  of  piety 
and  virtue,  he  was  singular  in  his  manners.  His  peculi- 
arities increased  in  his  old  age." 

Mr.  Dwight  married  Mary  Partridge  in  1695.  She  was 
the  daughter  of  Col.  Samuel  Partridge,  of  Hadley ;  and  his 


34  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

brother  Nathaniel,  who  settled  in  Northampton,  married  her 
sister  Mehitable.  He  had  thirteen  children, —  Anna,  John, 
Ruth,  Dorothy,  Flint,  Mehitable,  Eunice,  Mary,  Elizabeth, 
Theodore,  and  three  who  died  young.  Only  his  younger 
children  could  have  accompanied  him  to  the  Clapboard 
Trees  in  1730,  and  possibly  none  but  Elizabeth  and  Theo- 
dore. Elizabeth  married  Jeremiah  Baker,  and  lived  on  Fox 
Hill  until  her  death.  Theodore  died  unmarried  at  the  age 
of   thirty- two. 

The  genealogy  of  the  Dwight  family  has  been  very  fully 
given  in  The  History  of  the  Descendants  of  JoJin  Dwight,  of 
Dedhajfi,  Mass.,  a  work  written  by  Benjamin  W.  Dwight, 
and  published  in  1874.  It  is  in  two  large  volumes,  of  over 
five  hundred  pages  each.  Forty-two  pages  of  this  work  are 
devoted  to  the  Rev.  Josiah  Dwight  and  his  descendants. 
There  is  also  a  sketch  of  his  life  in  the  third  volume  of 
Sibley's  Harvard  Graduates. 

About  the  year  1725  there  was  a  considerable  agitation 
in  the  churches  in  regard  to  the  methods  of  singing.  The 
old  method  of  "lining  out"  hymns  was  discarded  by  some, 
and  it  was  proposed  to  give  to  the  art  of  singing  more  of 
expression.  On  this  subject,  Mr.  Dwight  preached  a  ser- 
mon, which  was  afterward  printed,  and  with  a  title-page 
worded  as  follows:  ''An  Essay  to  Silence  the  Outcry  that 
has  been  made  in  some  Places  against  Regular  Singing  in 
A  Sermon  Preach'd  at  iframmgljam*  By  the  Reverend 
Mr.  Josiah  DzvigJit,  Pastor  of  the  Church  of  Christ  in 
Woodstock.  Boston  :  Printed  for  JoJin  Eliot^  and  Sold  at 
his  Shop  at  the  South-End  of  the  Town.  1725."  The 
text  was  from  Acts  xvii.,  6, —  ''  These  that  have  turned  the 
world  upside  down  are  come  here  also." 

Mr.  Dwight  began  his  sermon  with  a  consideration  of  how 
new  things  may  be  misunderstood,  and  how  they  may  be 
thought  to  be  turning  the  world  upside  down,  when,  in  real- 
ity, their  effect  is  wholly  good.  He  then  spoke  of  singing 
as  a  natural  gift,  and  of  the  pleasure  it  gives  when  rightly 
used.  To  him,  it  was  a  good  gift  of  the  Father,  to  be  culti- 
vated and  enjoyed.     Then  he  proceeded  to  answer  the  objec- 


REV.    JOSIAH    DWIGIIT,    THE    FIRST    MINISTER  35 

tioiis  raised  against  the  proposed  reform.  He  said  that  the 
elderly  should  give  up  the  old  way,  if  the  new  one  elevates 
the  spirit  of  worship.  To  those  who  said  that  the  rejection 
of  the  old  way  would  be  a  condemnation  of  the  fathers,  he 
said:  "And  I  see  not  but  some  congregations,  and  sundry 
in  many  more,  are  to  be  blamed  for  their  ignorance  and 
heedlessness  about  the  tunes,  that  may  be  can't  distin- 
guish one  tune  from  another  when  sung,  and  slide  out  of 
one  tune  into  another,  and  do  not  mind  it,  or  sing  the  lines 
of  several  tunes  for  one,  when  a  little  care  and  study  would 
have  saved  the  disorder.  Therefore  I  would  propose,  that 
there  might  be  many  advantages  attending  a  practice  .which 
I  could  wish  all  our  congregations  were  come  into,  viz., 
to  name  the  tune  together  with  the  psalm,  and  all  the  skill- 
ful of  the  congregation  be  sure  to  fall  in  with  the  first  note 
and  syllable  ;  nor  is  this  a  bare  proposal  without  experiment, 
for  some  of  us  have  been  some  time  in  proof  hereof,  and  see 
its  expediency."  He  said  that  the  new  way  is  singing  in 
the  spirit  as  much  as  the  old  way  was,  that  the  disturbance 
of  regular  singing  was  only  incidental,  that  it  is  approved 
by  Scripture  as  much  as  the  old  way,  and  that  it  is  a  help  in 
promoting  piety  and  devotion. 

The  references  to  Mr.  Dwight  in  the  parish  records  are  of 
a  business  character,  for  the  most  part.  After  the  purchase 
of  the  house  he  lived  in,  the  next  mention  of  him  was  in 
connection  with  the  digging  of  a  well  at  the  parsonage. 
This  not  having  been  done,  at  the  next  meeting  it  was 
voted  to  do  something  farther  towards  digging  a  well  for 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Dwight,  "and  also  to  build  him  a  little  gate." 
His  salary  was  one  hundred  pounds  a  year,  with  firewood. 
In  1742,  his  salary  was  voted;  but  no  firewood  was  allowed 
him.  At  a  meeting  held  November  12  of  that  year,  the 
question  was  raised  of  getting  another  minister;  but  the 
proposition  was  voted  down.  The  difficulties,  whatever 
they  were,  increased  as  the  months  went  by ;  and  March 
16,  1743,  it  was  voted  "to  settle  another  minister  agreeable 
with  the  consent  of  their  Revd.  Pastor." 

At    a   meeting  held    A^ril   13,  it  was   discussed   whether 


36  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

''the  Precinct  would  have  preaching  among  themselves," 
while  only  twenty-five  pounds  were  voted  for  that  purpose. 
A  special  meeting  was  held  May  20,  to  act  upon  a  communi- 
cation sent  to  the  church  by  Mr.  Dwight.     At  this  meeting, 

It  was  put :  to  see  if  it  be  the  Mind  of  the  Precinct  to  make  the 
Revd.  Dwight  a  generous  Grant  of  fifty  Pounds  old  Tenour  on  Condition 
he  quits  the  pastoral  Office  among  us  &  is  dismissed  by  his  consent  att 
a  Chh  meeting. 

This  motion  was  carried  in  the  affirmative ;  but  John 
Richards,  John  Gay,  Peter  Thompson,  and  William  Ellis 
entered  their  dissent  against  the  vote.  The  communication 
from  Mr.  Dwight  was  in  these  words,  the  spelling  of  the 
records  being  retained  :  — 

To  the  Chh  of  Christ  att  the  Clapboard  Trees  in  Dedham  : 

Hond  &  beloved, 

Tis  well  known  to  all  the  World,  you  settled  me  in  this  Place  with 
the  utmost  Chearfulness  &  Pleasure ;  and  for  Years  together  spake  of 
my  Ministerial  Labors  as  Superior  to  those  of  any  Clergy  Man  round 
about :  and  as  to  my  Carriage  among  you,  I  am  conscious  to  myself,  it 
has  been  universally  &  entirely  innocent.  However,  as  there  is  a  Fire 
of  Contention  kindled  among  us,  which  it  seems,  cannot  be  extinguised 
but  by  my  Departure,  I  consent,  from  a  Regard  to  the  Glory  of  God  & 
your  Welfare,  to  quit  the  pastoral  Office  among  you,  upon  your  regular 
Dismission  of  me  att  a  Chh  Meeting ;  and  upon  the  following  Condi- 
tion, namely ;  That  you  make  me  a  generous  Present  of  fifty  Pounds  old 
Tenour ;  &  in  Token  of  hearty  Love  and  Regards,  a  Select  Number 
of  you  accompany  me  &  my  Family  to  Thompson,  when  I  am  ready 
to  remove 

I  am,  Gentlemen 

Your  very  humble  ^Servant 


^^/V/t    ^c^*u^f^^< 


Dedham  May  i6th  1743. 

Mr.  Dwight  was  dismissed  according  to  his  request,  but 
whether  the  ''select  number"  of  the  parish  accompanied 
him  to  Woodstock  the  records  do  not  indicate. 

The  first  parish  tax  was   levied  «on  fifty  persons,  one  of 


REV.    JOSIAH    DWIGIIT,    TIIK    FIRST    MINISTER        ^  3/ 

them  being  a  widow.  In  1765  there  were  forty-two  houses 
in  the  parish  and  three  hundred  and  thirteen  inhabitants. 
The  people  were  nearly  all  farmers,  lived  very  simply,  and 
enjoyed  life  under  humble  circumstances.  The  first  clerk  of 
the  parish,  Joseph  Richards,  was  a  physician,* ''eminent  in 
his  profession "  according  to  Mr.  Thacher,  and  he  was  a 
justice  of  the  peace,  a  colonel  of  militia,  and  a  member  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  for  six  years  in  succession, 
from  1744-50.  He  was  born  Feb.  25,  1701,  graduated  at 
Harvard  College  in  1721,  and  died  April  18,  1761,  "leaving 
behind  him  a  very  amiable  and  honorable  name."  The 
Lieut.  John  Baker,  who  was  the  moderator  at  all  the  parish 
meetings  for  the  first  two  years,  was  probably  the  John 
Baker  who  lived  on  Fox  Hill,  and  whose  father  settled  the 
farm  now  occupied  by  W.  E.  Chadwick,  about  the  year  1670. 
The  second  John  was  born  in  1677,  married  Sarah  Whiting 
in  1 70 1,  and  died  in  1768.  His  youngest  son  married  the 
youngest  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Josiah  Dwight.  This  farm 
was  owned  by  the  Baker  family  for  nearly  two  hundred 
years.  Deacon  Joseph  Ellis  obtained  license  "  to  keep 
tavern  "  July  28,  1732;  and  his  tavern  contained  one  room 
on  the  first  floor  and  one  sleeping  room  above.  It  was 
situated  near  the  meeting-house,  probably.  Much  that 
seems  necessary  to  our  life  was  then  wanting.  The  books 
were  few  and  poor.  There  were  no  daily  newspapers,  and 
the  few  issued  weekly  were  not  much  worth  the  reading. 
About  this  time  was  introduced  the  custom  of  singing  the 
hymn  through  without  its  being  "lined  out"  by  the  dea- 
cons. In  175 1,  the  first  church  gave  up  the  use  of  the 
New  England  Psalms,  and  adopted  the  hymns  of  Tate  and 
Brady.  Even  then,  the  old  things  were  being  left  behind, 
and  innovations  were  being  introduced  ;  but  these  incidents 
show  how  simple  was  the  life  of  that  time. 

In  his  History  of  Dedham,  Worthington  speaks  of  this 
period  as  one  of  great  disorder  and  ignorance.  He  says 
the  schools  were  at  their  lowest  stage,  and  that  "few  could 
have  had  any  instruction."  He  mentions  the  fact,  as  an  in- 
dication of  the  ignorance  of  the  people  at  about  this  time, 


38  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

that  the  town  records  were  poorly  kept.  The  penmanship 
was  poor,  the  spelling  antiquated,  and  the  grammar  not 
correct.  In  the  second  parish  (South  Dedham,  now  Nor- 
wood), in  all  these  respects  the  records  show  an  absence  of 
education.  Asa  specimen  of  the  spelling,  the  word  oathor- 
docts  will  suffice.  In  the  Clapboard  Trees  parish,  however, 
the  records  were  well  kept,  and  in  a  manner  superior  to 
those  of  the  town  or  the  first  and  second  parishes.  The 
penmanship  was  excellent,  the  language  good,  and  the  spell- 
ing fairly  modern.  The  old  spelling  and  the  use  of  contrac- 
tions were  not  so  common  as  in  the  town  and  first  and  sec- 
ond parish  records. 

On  the  26th  of  February,  1809,  the  last  sermon  was 
preached  in  the  first  meeting-house  of  the  parish,  by  Mr. 
Thacher,  the  minister  at  that  time.  In  that  sermon,  he 
described  the  men  who  built  it,  and  with  that  knowledge  of 
them  which  came  to  him  from  their  sons.  No  better  tribute 
can  be  paid  to  their  memory  than  that  which  he  then  of- 
fered :  ''  Instead  of  dwelling  in  ceiled  houses  painted  with 
Vermillion,  while  the  house  of  God  lay  waste,  the  first 
settlers  of  this  precinct  were  content  with  cottages  of  the 
most  simple  construction,  with  food  of  the  coarsest  nature, 
and  with  the  plainest  dress,  that  they  might  obtain  a  conven- 
ient and  decent  habitation  for  the  King  of  Heaven,  and 
might  perpetuate  the  rituals  of  Christianity  according  to  the 
Scripture.  They  were  willing  to  travel  through  the  world 
like  pilgrims  and  strangers,  that  they  might  prove  their 
regard  to  the  Gospel,  and  their  promptness  to  suffer  for  the 
cause  of  Christ.  Was  not  this  spirit  exemplified  in  rearing 
this  house  where  we  now  stand  1  This  was  the  work  of 
a  few  unincorporated  individuals,  bound  to  each  other  by 
no  other  law  than  zeal  and  love. 


IV. 

REV.    ANDREW   TYLER,   THE    SECOND    MINISTER. 

The  period  from  1740  to  1780  was  one  of  great  impor- 
tance in  the  history  of  our  country.  The  colonists  were 
learning  to  associate  together  for  common  protection  and 
benefit,  and  they  were  being  gradually  trained  for  the  com- 
ing struggle  for  independence.  The  struggle  for  supremacy 
in  America  between  France  and  Ens^land  went  on  during: 
this  time,  resulting  in  victory  for  England  ;  and  this  was 
but  the  prelude  to  the  Revolution,  which  soon  followed. 

We  turn  from  these  events  of  the  forming  of  a  nation,  to 
see  how  the  people  lived  who  were  learning  the  worth  of 
liberty,  and  how  to  gain  it.  In  our  study  of  the  great  events 
of  history,  we  are  apt  to  forget  the  homely  details  of  every- 
day life,  which  make  it  possible  for  men  to  prize  truth  and  to 
struggle  for  it.  On  the  other  hand,  in  considering  the  his- 
tory of  a  town  or  parish,  we  must  constantly  keep  in  mind 
the  larger  events  of  the  outside  world,  or  we  shall  fail  to  see 
a  cause  for  much  that  men  do  and  think.  The  Clapboard 
Trees  parish  was  not  long  without  a  minister  after  the 
departure  of  Mr.  D wight.  On  the  5th  of  Oct.,  1743,  only 
three  months  after  Mr.  Dwight  had  left,  the  parish  ''pro- 
ceeded to  the  choice  of  a  minister  to  settle  among  them, 
and  when  the  votes  were  counted,  the  Revd.  Mr.  Andrew 
Tyler  was  chose  by  a  great  majority."  Then  it  was  voted 
to  give  him  "  and  his  heirs  forever  the  precinct  house,  with 
four  acres  of  land,  to  encourage  him  to  settle  among  us." 
This  was  in  accordance  with  an  almost  universal  custom  of 
that  day,  which  made  it  necessary  that  a  parish  should  pro- 
vide a  minister  with  a  home  or  a  considerable  estate  on  his 
settlement.  He  was  expected  to  live  in  the  parish  all  his 
life,  and,  once  settled,  to  remain  until  his  death.     Sometimes 


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I'LOT   OF    THE    LAND    GIVEN    MR.    TYLER. 


REV.    ANDREW    TYLER,    THE    SECOND    MINISTER  4I 

money  was  given  him,  sometimes  land,  and  sometimes  a 
house.  For  the  first  year,  Mr.  Tyler  was  granted  "one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  pounds  a  year  old  tenor  for  his  salary,  and 
the  improvement  of  the  remainder  of  the  precinct  lands,  as 
long  as  he  is  our  minister."  At  a  meeting  of  the  parish, 
held  October  31,  it  was  voted  to  give  Mr.  Tyler  twenty-hve 
cords  of  wood  after  the  first  three  years.  This,  also,  was  in 
accordance  with  a  custom  of  the  time, —  that  the  minister  was 
to  be  provided  with  his  firewood  ;  and  always  the  wood  was 
furnished  or  its  equivalent  in  money  given.  It  is  probable 
that  this  custom  was  the  result  of  the  poverty  of  the  people 
in  the  colonies  and  the  simplicity  of  their  life.  They  had 
plenty  of  wood,  but  little  money  ;  and  it  was  easier  for  them 
to  cut  the  minister's  wood  for  him  than  to  give  him  a  larger 
salary. 

A  few  days  after  being  invited  to  settle  with  the  parish, 
Mr.  Tyler  sent  his  letter  of  acceptance.  It  is  an  interesting 
illustration  of  the  ministerial  mind  of  that  period,  and  is 
almost  ludicrous  in  its  mixture  of  piety  and  thrift.  It  was 
incumbent  on  Mr.  Tyler,  as  a  minister,  to  make  a  great  use 
of  religious  phrases,  and  they  were  probably  sincere  in  his 
case  ;  but  he  mixed  with  them  a  careful  consideration  of  the 
worldly  advantages  to  be  obtained  from  his  situation. 

Boston,  Octbr.  22d.  1743. 

To  the  Chh  &  Congregation  belonging  to  the  Clapboard  Tree  Parish  in 
Dedham,  to  be  communicated. 

Dear  Brethren  : 

When  I  consider  the  work  of  the  Ministry,  &  take  a 
View  of  the  many  Difficulties  that  attend  it,  and  att  the  same  Time  see 
my  own  insufficiency  for  the  right  Discharge  of  such  an  important 
Trust,  and  consider  of  that  most  dreadful  Curs  with  which  they  are 
threatned  who  do  the  Work  of  the  Lord  negligently,  I  am  ahiiost  ready 
to  give  up  all  Thoughts  of  entering  upon  that  Business  —  tho'  noble  and 
excellent  in  it  Self.  And,  indeed,  I  should  be  quite  discouraged  were 
there  not  many  gracious  Promises  made  to  such  as  are  really  desirous 
of  being  faithful!  &  successful  in  the  Work  of  the  Lord.  But  when  I 
take  a  View  of  that  gracious  Pronlise  of  our  ascended  Saviour  to  his 
Disciples  &  so  to  his  Ministers  in  all  Ages,'Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway, 
even  unto  the  End  of  the  World.     This  much  encourages  me  in  En- 


42  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

gaging  in  this  noble  Employ;  an  Employment  which  there  is  not  an 
Angel  in  Heaven  but  would  clap  his  Wings  for  Joy  to  be  engaged  in. 
But  when  I  look  furthur  into  the  future  &  eternal  State,  &  meditate 
upon  that  Glory  which  is  promised  to  the  faithful  Ministers  of  Christ, 
They  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the  Brightness  of  the  Firmament,  & 
they  that  turn  many  to  Righteousness  as  the  Starrs  forever  &  ever. 
These  considerations  seem  to  drive  all  my  Fears  away;  &  animate  & 
encourage  me  to  a  Performance  of  that  difficult  Office.  My  Brethren, 
I  hope  when  I  first  devoted  myself  to  the  Service  of  God  in  the  Min- 
istry, the  Motives  which  induced  me  were  a  Sincere  Desire  of  bring- 
ing Glory  to  my  God  &  being  an  Instrument  in  the  Hand  of  God  of 
bringing  many  Souls  to  Glory.  And  as  I  hope  these  were  my  Views 
att  first,  so  I  humbly  trust  I  act  from  the  same  now.  And  that  my  ear- 
nest Desire  of  God's  Glory  being  advanced,  &  Happiness  of  precious 
Souls  being  promoted  is  as  great  if  not  greater  than  ever.  And  now,  as 
God,  in  whose  Hands  are  the  Hearts  of  all  Men,  has  been  pleased  in  his 
holy  &  wise  Providence  to  incline  you  to  make  Choice  of  me,  his  most 
unWorthy  Servant,  to  be  your  Pastor,  &  has  so  greatly  united  you  in 
your  Choice  of  me,  I  can't  but  take  Notice  of  the  Hand  of  God  in  it, 
especially  when  so  many  other  Churches  are  torn  with  Quarrels  &  Dis- 
putes;  and  have,  I  hope,  thought  seriously  upon  your  Invitation  &  the 
Offers  you  have  made  me  for  my  Maintenace.  I  have  advised  with  my 
Friends,  who,  I  trust,  have  the  Interest  of  our  Lord  Jesus  &  his  Religion 
att  Heart;  and,  as  I  hope  &  trust,  have  been  careful  in  committing  my 
Cause  into  his  Hands  who  is  infinite  in  Wisdom,  beging  of  him  all  that 
Light  &  Direction  I  stood  in  need  of  in  acting  worthy  of  such  an  im- 
portant Affair.  I  came  upon  the  whole  to  this  Conclusion,  that  I  would 
accept  of  your  Invitation  &  do  now  declare  my  Acceptance  of  it,  hoping 
and  expecting  that  from  Time  to  Time  you  will  make  such  Additions  to 
what  you  now  offer  me  as  may  serve  to  maintain  me  comfortably  &  hand- 
somely so  long  as  God  in  his  holy  &  wise  Providence  shall  continue  me 
among  you.  And  also  that  you  pass  a  vote  that  you  will  find  me  my 
Wood,  after  three  years  from  this  Time.  And  these  Things,  my  Breth- 
ren, are  so  reasonable  in  themselves,  &  I  make  no  Manner  of  Doubt, 
appear  so  reasonable  to  you,  that  I  need  not  use  one  Argument  to  per- 
suade you  that  they  are  so.  And  now  here  upon,  my  dear  Brethren,  I 
devote  myself  to  the  Service  of  God.  I  offer  myself  to  you  to  spend  & 
be  spent  in  your  Souls  Service.  And  O  my  Brethren,  pray  for  me.  I 
am  but  young  &  unexperienced  &  need  your  fervent  Prayers  to  God  for 
me  that  I  may  be  found  faithful  to  God  &  your  Souls,  least  after  I  have 
preached  to  others  I  be  a  castaway  myself.  I  consider  the  important 
&  weighty  Charge  I  am  about  to  undertake,  &  let  this  stir  up  the  Gift 
of  Prayer  in  you  &  your  spirits  of  Prayer.  And  I,  that  God  would 
make  me  a  great  Blessing  to  you,  &  you  to  me,  and  many  of  you  be 
Seals  of  my  Ministry  for  my  Comfort  here  &  Crown  of  rejoicing  in  the 


REV.    ANDREW    TYLER,    THE    SECOND    MINISTER  43 

great  Day  &  forever  in  Heaven;  &  when  God  shall  right  up  the  People 
may  it  be  said  that  such  &  such  were  born  to  God  here.  And  when  he 
shall  make  up  his  Jewels  may  you  t!^  I  be  found  of  that  blessed  Number 
in  whom  the  Riches  of  free  Grace  shall  be  admired  &  magnified  forever 
&  ever,  and  who  shall  Joyn  the  Angels  &  Saints  above  in  the  Hallelujahs 
of  that  Temple  above  not  made  with  Hands  where  his  Worship  is  pure 
unmixed  &  eternal.     Amen  c\:  amen. 

Your  Servt.  in  the  Gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus, 


^  //'m/fll(J~- 


Mr.  Tyler  was  ordained  Nov.  30,  1743,  and  on  the  same 
day  was  admitted  a  member  of  the  church  by  a  letter  of 
recommendation  from  the  Brattle  Street  Church  in  Boston. 
The  churches  in  Brattle  Street,  Boston,  Medfield,  Natick, 
Milton,  Hingham,  the  first  in  Dedham,  and  the  second  in 
Roxbury  were  invited  to  join  in  the  ordination.  The  prayer 
was  made  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Gay,  of  Hingham.  The  sermon 
was  preached  from  Revelation  vi.,  2,  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Cooper,  of  Boston.  The  charge  was  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Baxter, 
of  Medfield,  and  the  right  hand  of  fellowship  by  the  Rev. 
Samuel  Dexter,  of  Dedham. 

Mr.  Tyler  was  born  in  Boston,  Aug.  20,  17 19,  the  son  of 
Andrew  Tyler,  Esq.,  of  that  city.  He  graduated  at  Harvard 
in  1738;  and  he  died  in  Boston,  May  3,  1775.  His  zeal  for 
the  royal  cause,  when  the  colonists  were  beginning  to  agitate 
for  liberty,  was  the  original  cause  of  his  trouble  with  his 
parishioners  in  later  years.  He  married,  March  20,  1745-46, 
on  her  sixteenth  birthday,  Mary  Richards,  daughter  of  Dr. 
Joseph  Richards,  first  clerk  of  the  parish.  They  had  nine 
sons, —  Andrew,  Joseph,  William,  Pepperell,  George,  Belcher, 
John,  David,  and  one  whose  name  is  not  known. 

Two  of  Mr.  Tyler's  sermons  were  printed  in  1756;  and 
they  were  preached  February  8  and  15,  "at  Dedham,  2d 
parish."     They  were  published  at  the  desire  of  the  hearers. 


44  THE    CLMM'.OARll     TRFI'S    rAKlSll 

imd  were  on  **  Tlio  Terms  of  C^lirisl  i;niilv  l)i"iol]y  Considorod, 
and  the  Reasonableness  of  them  lllnslraled."  'The  second 
sermon  was  a  continnalion  of  tlie  liist ;  and  they  were  printed 
together  in  Boston  by  lules  &  (lill,  "at  their  ])rintini;"-of]fiee 
next  to  tlie  Prison,  in  (}neen  Sti'eel."  The  text  for  both 
sermons  was  Luke  xiv.,  2h  :  "  If  any  man  come  to  mc,  and 
liate  not  his  father  and  mollier  and  wife  and  children  and 
sislers,  )'ea,  and  his  own  hfe  also,  he  cannot  be  ni)^  disciple." 

ICach  of  llie  two  sermons  concludes  with  a  '*  short  im- 
}-)rovemenl."  That  to  the  first  one  is  in  three  jxirts,  in  the 
first  of  which  he  said  tliat  we  ma\'  judge  of  our  rc^ligion,  as 
to  its  wortli  and  sincciity,  l)y  our  compaiative  subordination 
of  everything  to  C^hrist.  '*  Let  us  be  cautioned,"  he  says  in 
the  second  part,  "against  imagining  tliat  an  unkind,  morose 
Heliax'ioi"  towarcks  (un"  fellow  Men,  and  espcciall)'  our  near 
and  dear  Relatives,  is  any  jxirt  of  tlie  Religion  of  Jesus 
Christ."  In  the  tldrd  jxirt,  he  said  :  **  Let  us  be  exhorted  to 
tliink  seriousl)'  upon  tlie  Nature  ol  the  Ivcligion  ol  Jesus 
C'hrist,  and  make  it  our  principal  Care  to  get  our  /Mfections 
(hsengaged  liom  all  earthly jMijoyments,  and  i)lace  them 
principally  upon  our  (iod,  ami  Redeemer." 

The  second  sermon  is  an  attempt  to  show  the  reasonable- 
ness of  the  conditions  of  salvation  as  they  are  [iiwsented  by 
Christianity.  They  both  are  strc^ng,  well-reasoned  sermons, 
c.dculated  to  make  an  impression  on  a.  congregation,  as  they 
evidently  did.  They  indicate  that  the  preacher  was  a  man 
of  fair  ability,  and  that  he  was  inclined,  according  to  the 
fashion  of  the  day,  lo  gi\-e  to  Christianity  a  somewhat  prac- 
tical inteipretation. 

The  parish  iccoi'ds  C(uUain  little  moi-e  than  the  \-otes 
passed  at  the  meetings  held  fiom  time  lo  time,  but  they 
give  us  hints  here  and  there  of  what  men  were  tloing  ami 
thinking.  At  the  meeting  when  the  date  of  Mr.  Tyler's 
orilination  was  fixed  ujion,  Joseph  ICllis,  Nathaniel  Colburn, 
and  ICbene/er  Kingsl)ury  werc^  appointctl  a  conuniltee  to 
provide  suitable  entei-tainment  for  the  ministers  and  mes- 
sengers; anil  se\en  pounds  new  tenor  or  twenty-eight 
pounds    old   tenor    were   votetl   {ov  this   purpose.      .V  dinner 


Ki-:v.   ANnKi'.w  'i\i.i:k,    riii'.  sicc^nd   minmsikk  45 

and  plcnlv  of  vum  wcvc  ])r()\i(U'il  loi-  the  oidiiiat ion,  without 
(loiibl,  as  that  was  tlic  custom  ol  tho  tihie.  Al  the  i)arish 
nicolini;  the  next  year,  it  was  xotcd  t*^  i;"ivc  Mr.  'J'yler  the 
loose  money  j)nt  into  tlie  contribution  box,  which  was  also 
a  custom  in  most  of  tlie  churches.  The  salary  was  small, 
and  it  was  added  to  in  this  way  by  the  free-will  olfeiin:;s  of 
the  peo[)le,  Mr.  Tyler's  salary  was  from  sixty  to  eiL;hty 
pounds,  which  was  a  small  sum,  owini;-  to  the  linancial  de- 
pression of  that  peia'od  and  the  want  of  a  slable  curri'iicy. 
\Vlien  the  loose  money  was  voted  to  the  minister,  it  was 
also  decided  "to  make  two  lights  below  the  girl,  one  on 
each  side  of  the  desk  in  the  pulpit."  It  will  be  seen  by  this 
that  the  work  of  completing  the  church  was  still  gohig  on. 
In  1745,  it  was  decided  to  lath  and  plaster  the  meeting- 
house above  the  gallery  floor  and  overhead  the  minister's 
l)ew,  and  also  to  lurnish  the  side  galleries  with  pews.  The 
granting  of  money  for  this  work  was  deferred,  however,  to 
another  meeting,  the  pressure  of  the  war  with  the  r^rench 
l-)robably  being  felt.  At  this  meeting,  liberty  was  given  for 
any  one  to  build  horse  stables  on  the  bounds  or  outsides 
of  their  lands  near  the  meeting-house,  it  would  seem  that 
Mr.  Tyler  was  the  owner  ol  a  slave  whose  name  was  Weston, 
and  who  swept  and  took  the  caie  of  the  meeting-house  from 
1748  to  1756.  The  treasurer's  book  in  1754  had  this  entry: 
"Paid  to  Westown  negro  to  Mr.  Tyler  six  shillings,  it  being 
for  taking  care  of  ye  meeting  house  in  ye  year  1753."  A 
few  years  later,  one  of  Mr.  Tyler's  sons  performed  the  same 
service. 

One  of  the  difficulties  of  the  time  of  the  1^'rench  wars  is 
to  be  seen  on  the  pages  of  the  record.  In  1746  it  was  voted 
to  give  Mr.  Tyler  "  a  free  gift  of  forty  i)ounds  old  tenor  on 
consideration  of  the  scarcity  and  uncommon  price  of  the 
necessarys  of  life,"  and  in  1747  he  was  granted  one  hundred 
and  forty  pounds  old  tenor  "on  account  of  the  great  rise  of 
the  necessarys  of  life."  \u)v  the  same  cause,  his  salary  in 
1748  was  three  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  and  fom-  hundred 
in  1749.  A  part  of  this  rise  in  i)rices  was  doubtless  due  to 
the  unreliable  financial  methods  of  the  colonies  and  to  the 


4-6  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

depreciation  in  the  currency.  In  ly.SO,  his  salary  came  back 
to  a  normal  basis,  and  was  sixty  pounds  thirteen  shillings 
and  fourpence.  He  was  allowed  seven  pounds  six  shillings 
and  eightpence  for  firewood.  This  remained  his  salary  for 
several  years;  but  in  1762  it  was  raised  to  eighty  pounds, 
while  ten  pounds  were  allowed  for  firewood. 

The  controversy  about  the  parish  lines  between  the  Clap- 
board Trees  and  the  other  parishes  in  the  town  was  contin- 
ued for  many  years,  and  on  several  occasions  that  subject 
was  discussed  in  the  parish  meetings  or  referred  to  commit- 
tees for  adjustment.  A  difficulty  with  the  first  parish  about 
lands  also  excited  attention.  In  1758,  the  parish  meeting 
chose  ''  Thirteen  men  to  Over  See  ye  Boys  on  Sabath 
Days " ;  and  this  committee  was  renewed  the  following 
year. 

For  about  twenty  years,  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Tyler  was 
successful,  and  he  was  popular  with  his  people.  After 
that  time  there  were  causes  of  dissatisfaction  on  the  part 
of  the  congregation,  which  gathered  force  for  a  few  years, 
and  then  found  expression  at  a  parish  meeting  held  Feb.  7, 

1769.  At  that  time,  a  petition  was  presented,  requesting  a 
committee  to  wait  on  Mr.  Tyler,  and  ask  him  on  what  terms 
he  would  give  up  his  pastoral  connection.  At  the  meet- 
ing held  the  20th  of  March,  the  committee  reported  that 
Mr.  Tyler  had  no  terms  to  offer.  No  salary  was  granted  at 
this  meeting,  and  such  was  the  action  at  meetings  held  in 
June,  September,  and  November.     At  a  meeting  in  January, 

1770,  it  was  decided  to  ask  the  church  to  join  in  calling  an 
ecclesiastical  council  "  to  give  their  judgment  and  advice" 
in  regard  to  the  difficulty,  which  by  this  time  had  grown  to 
large  proportions.  In  a  communication  addressed  by  this 
meeting  to  the  church,  the  members  of  the  parish  say : 
**  You  cannot  be  insensible  that  the  animosities  among  us 
are  great  and  melancholy,  and  attended  with  many  great 
and  unspeakable  disadvantages."  At  the  March  meeting, 
Mr.  Tyler  was  voted  his  salary  for  the  previous  year;  but  the 
sum  was  reduced  to  forty  pounds.  At  the  March  meeting 
of  1 77 1   there  was  still  a  refusal  to  grant  a  salary;    but    a 


REV.    ANDREW    TYLER,    THE    SECOND    MINISTER  47 

committee,  consistini;-  of  Capt.  Daniel  Gay,  Deacon  Joseph 
Ellis,  and  Isaac  Whiting,  was  appointed  "to  prepare  reasons 
to  be  entered  on  record  to  justify  the  parish  in  neglecting 
to  grant  a  salary  for  the  support  of  the  Reverend  Andrew 
Tyler."  This  committee  made  a  well-written  statement  of 
the  grievances  of  the  parish,  which  was  adopted  by  the 
meeting.  That  they  should  have  carried  their  action  so  far 
as  to  prepare  such  a  statement  can  be  understood  only 
when  we  remember  that  the  settlement  of  a  minister  was 
then  a  process  having  a  legal  significance,  and  that  the 
minister  could  hold  his  place  until  death,  unless  the  proper 
means  were  taken  to  dispossess  him  of  it.  Had  it  not  been 
for  this  feeling  of  the  binding  connection  of  minister  and 
parish,  which  was  carefully  protected  by  the  laws,  it  is  prob- 
able Mr.  Tyler  would  have  given  up  his  position  long  before 
he  did.  This  necessity  of  resorting  to  harsh  means,  to 
get  rid  of  a  man  they  had  ceased  to  have  confidence  in,  is 
seen  throughout  the  report  of  the  committee,  in  the  spirit 
which  breathed  throusfh  it :  — 

o 

The  Committee  appointed  to  prepare  Reasons  to  be  entered  on 
Record,  to  justify  the  Conduct  of  the  Parish  in  neglecting  to  grant  a 
Salary  for  the  Support  of  the  reverend  Mr  Tyler,  have  attended  that 
Service,  and  beg  Leave  to  report  the  following  Draft ;  which  is  humbly 
submitted. 

The  Committee  find  that  the  Laws  of  the  Province  require  that  a 
Minister  should  be  learned,  orthodox,  able,  pious,  and  of  good  Conversa- 
tioji  —  and  that  when  a  Minister,  qualified  as  above  said,  is  not  suitably 
encou?^aged,  supported  or  7naintained,  he  may  have  his  Remedy  by  a 
legal  Process.  But  your  Committee  are  humbly  of  Opinion  that  the 
Minister  of  this  Parish  is  very  deficient  with  respect  to  some  of  these 
Qualifications. 

As  to  his  Learning,  the'  Committee,  not  being  competent  Judges 
themselves,  can  only  say,  that  they  know  some  Men  of  Learning  have 
given  Intimations  that  he  was  reckoned,  when  at  College,  but  a  very 
indifferent  Scholar  —  and  that  Ministers  in  general  are  looked  upon  to 
be  much  Superior  to  him  in  that  Respect,  by  those  who  are  able  to 
form  a  proper  Judgment. 

As  to  his  Orthodoxy,  the  Parish  have  never  made  any  public  Com- 
plaint, and  therefore  the  Committee  do  not  think  themselves  authorized 
to  make  any  Observations  in  regard  to  that  Particular. 

As  to  his  Ability,  (which  we  take  not  to  imply  precisely  the  same  as 


48  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

Learning,)  if  by  that  is  meant  what  in  Scripture  is  meant,  by  an  able 
Minister  of  the  New  Testament  —  apt  to  teach  —  one  who  allwa\s  feeds 
his  People  with  Knowledge  and  Understanding  —  one  thoroughly  fur- 
nished for  the  good  Work  of  the  Ministry  —  able  to  convince  Gain- 
sayers  —  who  can  comfot't  as  well  as  reprove  —  one  who  is  able  to 
govern  his  own  Temper,  so  as  to  bear  with  the  Infirmities  of  others,  and 
to  h^  patient  towards  all  Men — a  Workman  who  needeth  not  to  be 
ashamed  —  one  who  knows  how  carefully  to  avoid  such  Things  as  gen- 
der Strife,  and  which  tend  to  subvert  the  Hearers If  all  this  is 

meant,  in  the  Law,  by  a  Minister's  being  a  Man  of  Ability,  then  Mr 
Tyler,  as  the  Committee  humbly  conceive,  is  much  deficient  as  to  this 
Article. 

But  what  is  most  exceptionable  in  Mr  Tyler's  Character  is,  that  he 
does  not  appear  to  be  a  Man  of  that  Piety  and  Good  Conversation,  which 
the  Laws  of  the  Province,  as  well  as  the  Laws  of  Christ  require.  The 
Committee  join  Piety  and  a  Good  Conversation  together,  because  they 
think  that  where  the  former  is  the  latter  will  never  be  wanting. 

With  respect  to  his  Conversation  they  are  bound  to  mention,  his 
many  rash  and  unguarded  Expressions,  from  Time  to  Time  uttered, 
which  it  would  be  tedious  to  enumerate  ;  and  the  repeated  Instances 
of'  his  not  paying  that  Regard  to  Truth  which  every  Christian  ought 
to  do. 

Mr  Tyler  has,  in  the  Opinion  of  the  Committee,  since  the  Commence- 
ment of  our  present  Difficulties,  handled  the  Word  of  God  deceitfully, 
in  order  to  level  his  Artillery  against  those  with  whom  he  has  been 
offended  —  He  has  been  noisy,  boisterous  and  turbulent,  and  has  not 
observed  the  Direction  to  the  Servant  of  the  Lord,  not  to  Strive. —  He 
has  not  exhorted  with  Longsuffering,  Gentleness  and  Meekness  of 
Wisdom. 

In  dispensing  the  Discipline  of  the  Church,  the  Committee  apprehend, 
he  has  acted  partially  and  through  Prejudice. —  They  also  think  his  gen- 
eral Conduct  has  shown  that  he  has  been  lifted  up  with  Pride  —  That 
he  has  been  far  from  exhibiting  a  Pattern  of  good  Works,  and  has  not 
been  careful,  as  a  Minister  ought  to  be,  not  to  give  offence ;  and  conse- 
quently has  not  been  an  Example  to  the  People  in  Conversation  and 
in  Charity  —  and  if  he  has  known  the  State  of  Christ's  Flock,  yet  he 
has  not  adapted  his  Behaviour  and  public  Performances  thereto ;  but 
has,  by  a  haughty  and  overbearing  Carriage,  increased  the  Uneasinesses 
that  have  subsisted  among  us,  which,  had  it  not  been  his  own  Fault, 
might  long  ago  have  been  happily  accomodated;  but  now,  alas!  are 
past  Remedy  but  by  a  Seperation. 

For  the  aforementioned  Reasons,  &  others  that  might  be  enumer- 
ated, the  Committee  are  humbly  of  Opinion,  that  the  Parish  are  not  in 
Duty  bound  to  grant  Mr  Tyler  any  further  Means  of  Support  —  and 
they  are  encouraged  to  hope  that  if  he  should  ever  make   Application 


REV.    ANDREW    TYLER,    Till':    SECOND    MINISTER  49 

therefor  by  a  Process  in  Law,  the  Honorable  Court  will  be  of  the  Same 

Mind. 

Daniel  Gay,       ^ 

J(^SEPH  PLllis,      r  Coiiunittec. 

Isaac  Whiting,) 

Dedham  Third  Parish 
March  25th  1771 


This  committee  was  composed  of  the  best  men  in  the  par- 
ish. Joseph  Ellis  had  been  a  deacon  of  the  church  since  its 
first  organization,  being  now  an  old  man.  He  had  been  a 
representative  in  175 1,  and  again  in  1758-59.  Isaac  Whit- 
ing had  recently  served  as  the  clerk  of  the  parish  for  ten 
years.  He  had  also  been  town  clerk,  serving  in  that  capac- 
ity from  1769  to  1773;  and  he  was  elected  a  selectman  in 
1753,  holding  that  office  for  twelve  years.  Daniel  Gay  had 
been  a  selectman  for  three  years. 

Mr.  Tyler  seems  to  have  been  as  unwilling  to  leave  the 
parish  as  some  of  his  parishioners  were  anxious  to  have  him 
go.  At  a  parish  meeting  held  in  December,  1771,  he  was 
voted  one  hundred  and  eighty  pounds,  on  condition  that  the 
parish  was  discharged  from  any  farther  requirements  in  re- 
gard to  his  support.  Mr.  Tyler  communicated  to  the  parish 
his  own  views  of  the  situation,  under  date  of  Jan.  i.  1772, 
in  reply  to  this  action  of  the  parish,  which  was  presented 
at  a  meeting  held  the  same  date  :  — 

I  have  taken  your  proposals  into  as  mature  consideration  as  the  short 
time  you  have  adjourned  your  parish  meeting  to,  and  my  other  engage- 
ments, would  permit.  And  upon  the  whole,  I  can  hardly  suppose  you 
yourselves  can  think  what  you  have  offered  to  be  an  adequate  considera- 
tion even  for  past  services  and  wood,  especially  considering  the  great 
disadvantages  to  which  you  must  needs  think  I  have  been  subjected  by 
your  neglect  of  voting  my  supply  from  year  to  year  for  three  years  past. 
Nor  can  I  think  I  should  be  just  to  myself  or  to  other  persons  of  my 
order,  even  of  ages  yet  unborn,  should  I,  without  any  further  considera- 
tion, give  up  the  just  claims  I  might  have  also  upon  you  for  future  ser- 
vices, should  it  please  God  to  spare  my  life  to  minister  in  the  place  to 
which  in  his  providence  he  hath  called  me,  more  especially  since,  after 
all  the  "  fiery  tryals  "  some  of  your  number  have  caused  me  to  pass 
through,  there  has  not  been  found  "matter  of  occasion"  against  me  in 
the  opinion  of  judges  of  your  own  selection,  and  whose  judgment  or 


50  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

result  this  church  of  Christ  expressed  their  high  approbation  of  (if  I 
mistake  not)  by  a  unanimous  vote  of  thanks. 

But,  gentlemen,  if  you  prize  your  freedom  from  the  obligations  you 
are  under  to  me  so  far  as  to  purchase  it  at  an  honorable  rate,  I  am 
ready,  for  your  gratification,  to  take  the  matter  into  serious  considera- 
tion, and  shall  give  you  in  a  very  short  time,  an  answer  thereon. 

The  parish  charged  a  committee  to  ascertain  his  terms  ; 
and  his  reply  was  read  at  a  meeting  held  January  15,  in 
which  he  said,  ''  The  proposals  you  have  made  appear  to  me 
so  far  short  of  what  is  right  and  just  that,  until  your  senti- 
ments are  greatly  altered,  I  apprehend  there  is  no  expedi- 
ence in  my  suggesting  anything  further  to  you  on  the  sub- 
ject." Another  committee  was  chosen  to  wait  on  him,  and 
to  the  meeting  held  on  the  29th  he  sent  this  communica- 
tion :  — 

As  I  devoted  myself  in  my  early  days  to  the  work  of  the  gospel  min- 
istry in  this  place,  and  for  the  sake,  I  trust,  of  promoting  the  Redeemer's 
kingdom,  and  the  best  interests  of  your  immortal  souls:  and,  having 
obtained  help  from  God,  continue  to  this  day  to  minister  to  you  in  holy 
things,  so  I  apprehend  I  should  have  very  satisfactory  reasons  before  I 
can  see  it  my  duty  to  relinquish  my  pastoral  office  among  you. 

In  an  affair  which  not  only  relates  to  my  own  person  and  family,  but 
the  interests  of  these  churches,  I  desire  to  act  with  all  deliberation. 
I  am  fully  of  the  mind,  that  till  you  make  proposals  much  superior 
to  what  you  have  done,  I  should  dishonor  God  and  the  interests  of  relig- 
ion, by  complying  with  those  you  have  already  made ;  but  when  I  am 
enabled  to  quit  my  pastoral  care  of  the  flock  of  Christ  in  this  place  on 
terms  honorable  to  myself,  and  just  to  my  family,  and  consistent  with 
the  honor  of  God  and  these  churches,  I  am  willing  to  do  it. 

Whatever  terms  shall  be  properly  proposed  by  you  to  me,  I  will  take 
them  into  my  serious  and  deliberate  consideration,  and  shall  be  willing 
on  so  interesting  an  affair  to  advise  with  gentlemen  that  I  have  reason 
to  think  are  wise,  upright  and  judicious,  and  wish  w^ell  to  you  as  well  as 
myself  and  the  interests  of  our  holy  religion.  In  a  word,  things  being 
no  way  prepared  for  such  a  reference  as  you  propose,  it  will  be  time 
enough  to  think  upon  such  a  proposal  when  they  are. 

It  would  seem  frojn  these  letters  that  Mr.  Tyler  was  in- 
clined to  what  was  fair  and  right.  So  far  as  the  trouble  can 
now  be  judged  of,  he  was  more  nearly  in  the  right  than 
those  who  opposed  him.     The  church  was  on  his  side,  while 


REV.    ANDREW    TYLER,    THE    SECOND    MINISTER  5  I 

those  members  of  the  parish  who  were  not  church  members 
inchided  his  opponents.  When  the  dispute  was  left  to  dis- 
interested men,  he  received  more  than  double  the  sum  which 
the  parish  proposed  to  pay  him. 

The  controversy  went  on  through  the  year  1772,  the 
parish  making  offers  for  a  settlement  of  the  question, 
and  Mr.  Tyler  declining  them  because  the  parish  was  not 
liberal  enough  in  its  proposals.  In  October,  this  article 
was  inserted  in  the  warrant  calling  a  special  meeting  of 
the  parish  :  — 

As  Mr.  Tyler  has,  as  many  apprehend,  refused  to  comply  with  the 
reasonable  request  of  many  members  of  the  church  in  this  place,  and 
also  refused  many  fair  and  generous  offers  from  the  parish,  and  his  tarry 
here  as  a  minister  is  thought  to  be  attended  with  awful  and  deplorable 
consequences ;  and  if  it  should  so  happen  that  the  precinct  shall  not  be 
any  farther  satisfied  with  the  proposals  that  may  be  made  by  Mr.  Tyler 
at  this  meeting,  then  that  the  precinct  take  the  expediency  and  utility  of 
dismissing  Mr.  Andrew  Tyler  from  his  ministerial  office  among  us  into 
consideration,  and  vote  on  the  affair  as  they  shall  think  proper. 

Acting  on  this  article,  the  parish  proposed  to  leave  the 
dispute    to  the  settlement  of   three    disinterested    persons  ; 
and,  after  still  farther   delays  and    misunderstandings,  this 
proposition  was    carried  into    effect.     In    a    communication 
made   to  the   parish  Nov.   18,   1772,  Mr.  Tyler   proposed  a 
committee    to  whom    the  whole    controversy  should    be   re- 
ferred, to  be    mutually  chosen    by  himself   and   the  parish. 
This  proposition  was  accepted;  and  the  committee  chosen 
consisted  of  the  Hon.  James  Humphrey,  the  Hon.   Samuel 
Danforth,   Norton   Quincy,  Col.   Benjamin    Lincoln,   Doctor 
Cotton  Tufts,  Josiah  Edson,  and  Deacon  Jabez  Fisher,  who 
were   fully    empowered    to  settle    the    terms  on    which    the 
difficulty    should    be  adjusted.     They    met    Dec.    12,    1772, 
Mr.  Danforth  not  being  present,  and  after  hearing  evidence 
decided  that   the  parish  pay  Mr.   Tyler  three  hundred  and 
ninety-two  pounds  and  sixteen  shillings  within  six  months, 
and  that   Mr.   Tyler  give  a  bond  of   one   thousand    pounds 
that  he  would  ask  dismission  within  seven  days.      On  the 
17th  of  December,  he  sent  to  the  parish  a  request  for  dis- 
mission in  as  brief  a  note  as  he  could  have  written. 


52  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

Mr.  Tyler  returned  to  Boston,  where  he  Hved  until  his 
death  in  1775.  After  his  departure,  the  parish  seems  to 
have  made  no  immediate  effort  to  secure  a  minister,  a  con- 
siderable time  being  required  to  pay  the  large  sum  awarded 
to  Mr.  Tyler.  Bitter  feelings,  also,  had  been  stirred  up  in 
the  parish  ;  and  it  was  not  easy  to  bring  the  congregation 
again  into  harmony  of  action.  No  money  was  voted  for 
preaching  in  1773  ;  but  in  March,  1774,  Deacon  Ichabod 
Gay,  William  Ellis,  Jr.,  and  Isaac  Whiting  we.re  appointed  a 
committee  "to  signify  to  the  second  precinct  in  Dedham, 
if  it  be  their  mind,  t©  congregate  together  for  three  months 
on  Lords  Days,  from  April  next,  in  their  meeting  house  one 
and  one  in  ours  successively."  There  is  no  intimation  in 
the  records  that  this  proposed  action  was  carried  out.  In 
September  twenty-five  pounds  only  were  voted  for  preach- 
ing, and  at  a  meeting  in  December  a  movement  was  made 
towards  having  no  preaching  for  three  months  in  the  winter. 
This  proposition  was  voted  down  ;  but  those  who  favored  it 
were  in  the  majority  at  the  March  meeting  of  1775,  when 
it  was  decided  to  have  preaching  for  only  eight  months  in 
the  year,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  determine  which 
those  should  be.  The  bad  feeling  in  the  parish  gradually 
lessened  ;  and  in  1776  the  usual  amount  of  money  was 
appropriated  for  preaching,  and  this  was  the  case  until  a 
minister  was  settled  -in   1779. 

From  the  treasurer's  book,  it  has  been  ascertained  that 
the  pulpit  was  supplied  in  1775  by  Benjamin  Guild,  Mr. 
Coggin,  Mr.  Fisher,  Mr.  Shaw,  and  Mr.  Haven;  in  1776, 
by  Mr.  Barnerd,  Mr.  Adams,  Mr.  Sanger,  Mr.  Eliot,  Mr. 
Chickering,  and  Samuel  Kingsbury;  in  1777,  by  Mr.  Hay- 
ward,  Mr.  Ripley,  Mr.  Ganet,  Mr.  Johnson,  and  Mr.  Morey  ; 
in  1778,  by  Mr.  Thacher,  Mr.  Bradford,  Mr.  Daniels,  and 
Mr.  Balentine ;  in  1779,  by  Mr.  Daniels  and  Mr.  Hutchin- 
son. Some  of  these  men  preached  in  more  than  one  year. 
Several  of  them  were  neighboring  clergymen,  while  one  or 
two  of  them  have  become  known  to  fame.  The  small-pox, 
in  a  very  destructive  form,  ravaged  the  parish  in  1775  ;  and 
a  large  number  of  persons  died.  This  probably  added  to 
the  delay  in  calling  a  minister. 


REV.  ANDREW  TYLER,  THE  SECOND  MINISTER      53 

The  parish  did  not  neglect  to  provide  for  the  education 
of  its  children.  In  1717,  the  town  voted  to  have  the  school 
kept  in  several  localities;  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to 
determine  on  them.  In  1720,  the  town  school  was  held 
for  six  or  more  weeks  of  each  year  near  the  house  of  John 
Richards,  for  six  months  near  the  first  parish  meeting-house, 
and  for  six  weeks  near  the  house  of  a  Mr.  Chamberlain. 
It  was  one  of  the  duties  of  the  selectmen  to  determine  for 
how  long  a  time  the  school  should  be  kept  in  each  of  these 
places,  but  one  master  being  provided,  who  at  first  received 
forty  pounds  and  then  si?ity  pounds  tor  his  services.  The 
following  is  one  among  many  entries  on  the  town  records 
in  regard  to  this  travelling  school,  on  this  occasion  the 
subject  coming  before  the  town  meeting:  — 

March  4,  1723. —  It  was  further  proposed  to  the  town  if  it  be  their 
mind  to  have  the  school  removed  to  a  place  near  the  house  of  John 
Richards  the  months  of  October,  November  and  December,  and  near 
the  house  of  John  MacNab  the  months  of  January,  February  and 
March.     Voted  in  the  affirmative. 

Both  these  places  were  within  the  limits  of  the  parish 
soon  after  created,  the  school  being  held  in  the  summer 
months  near  the  meeting-house.  In  1756,  the  town  voted 
to  apportion  the  school  money  to  each  of  the  parishes.  The 
proportion  of  the  west  parish  was  ten  pounds  nine  shillings 
and  ninepence.  The  first  mention  of  schools  in  the  parish 
records  was  in  1753,  when  an  article  was  inserted  in  the 
warrant :  — 

4.  To  act  what  shall  be  thought  proper  respecting  the  school  house 
and  schooling  in  said  precinct. 

The  parish  declined  by  its  vote  to  take  any  action,  prob- 
ably because  it  thought  this  matter  properly  belonged  to 
the  town.  It  would  seem,  however,  by  the  wording  of  the 
warrant,  that  a  school-house  had  been  built  or  that  there 
was  a  proposition  to  build.  Similar  action  was  taken  in 
1758,  when  the  warrant  asked  if  an  inquiry  should  be  made 
as  to  how  that  part  of  the  school  money  belonging  to  the 
precinct  was  laid  out.     In   1760,  an  article  was  in  the  war- 


54  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

rant  "to  see  if  the  precinct  will  lay  out  part  of  the  school 
money  for  a  woman's  school  " ;  but  it  was  dismissed  with 
the  article  calling  for  overseers  to  take  care  of  the  boys. 
In  1769,  mention  is  made  of  a  school-house  near  the  house 
of  Oliver  Holmes;  and  this  was  called  the  "old  school- 
house  V  in  the  records.  In  1770,  it  was  proposed  to  divide 
the  school  money  equally  between  the  three  school-houses, 
and  money  was  voted  to  "  the  proprietors  of  the  new  school- 
house  near  Capt.  Daniel  Gay's."  In  1779  there  were  four 
schools,  as  the  following  action  indicates  :  — 

Voted  the  school  money  shall  be  divided  into  four  parts  according  to 
what  each  part  pays,  in  the  following  manner,  viz:  the  North  part, 
including  Timothy  Baker  and  Lt.  John  Richards;  the  West  part,  Timo- 
thy Baker,  Jr.  and  Timothy  Bullard ;  the  South  part,  Lt.  Joseph  Ellis 
and  Benjamin  Fairbanks  ;  the  East  part,  Nathaniel  Fisher  and  Peletiah 
Herring. 

In  1784,  the  parish  was  asked  to  give  liberty  to  set  a 
school-house  on  land  belonging  to  the  parish.  Among  the 
loose  parish  papers  is  one  dated  1784,  referring  to  a  school 
near  the  meeting-house ;  and  those  families  living  in  the 
vicinity  opened  a  school  there  in  that  year.  This  is  the 
agreement  entered  into  :  — 

Dedham,  third  precinct,  Jan  11,  1784. 
We,  the  subscribers,  mutually  agree  to  purchase  the  house  near  the 
clapboard  tree  meeting  house  for  a  proprietors  school,  and  to  pay  the 
sums  affixed  to  our  names,  and  to  comply  with  all  such  regulations  as 
shall  be  hereafter  specified.  To  this  were  signed  the  following  names  : 
Ichabod  Ellis,  Theodore  Gay,  Timothy  Smith,  Jonathan  Onion,  Timo- 
thy Baker,  Henry  Glover,  David  Ellis,  Seth  Gay,  Eliphalet  Baker,  David 
Fairbanks,  Joseph  Gay,  Nathaniel  Whiting,  Samuel  Star,  Samuel  Col- 
burn,  Jr.,  Samuel  French. 

In  1786,  the  following  entry  was  made:  "The  precincts 
proportion  of  school  money  for  the  year  1785  £'^0  173, 
divided  as  follows :  North  school,  £^  3  i  ;  East  school, 
£7  5  5  5  South  school,  £d>  2  8  ;  West  school,  £6  2  3  ;  Ben- 
jamin Fairbanks,  £1  3  10."  Similar  entries  were  made 
until  1796,  when  the  name  of  Oliver  Ellis  appears  as  a  recip- 
ient of  a  proportion  of  the  school  money,  the  sum  of  about 


REV.    ANIM^KW    TYLKR,    THE    SECOND    MINISTER  55 

thirty  pounds  being  annually  received  from  the  town  by  the 
parish  during  all  the  later  years  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
The  North  School  was  probably  located  on  Summer  Street, 
the  West  School  near  the  present  Baptist  church,  the  South 
School  not  far  from  the  Union  School  of  to-day,  and  the  East 
School  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  present  Fisher  School- 
house.  For  many  years,  beginning  about  the  end  of  the 
century,  the  Bridenno  Fund  supported  a  school  near  the 
meeting-house,  which  was  taught  by  a  woman,  in  accordance 
with  the  provision  of  the  will  by  which  it  was  established. 

In  the  year  1764,  the  parish  was  given  a  sum  equal  to 
about  one  hundred  dollars,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a 
school  near  the  meeting-house.  It  is  an  indication  that  the 
subject  of  education  had  attracted  the  attention  of  the  peo- 
ple, that  this  gift  should  have  been  made  by  a  woman.  As 
a  curious  expression  of  the  mixture  of  religious  and  secular 
thought  at  that  time,  a  part  of  the  will  in  which  this  gift  was 
made  is  worthy  of  notice  :  — 

In  the  name  of  God,  Amen.  I,  Susanna  Bridenno,  of  Dedham  in 
the  County  of  Suffolk,  in  New  England,  singlevvoman,  being  very  sick 
and  weak  in  body  but  of  a  perfect  mind  and  memory,  (thanks  be  given 
unto  God!)  calling  unto  mind  the  mortality  of  my  body  and  knowing 
that  it  is  appointed  for  all  men  to  die,  do  make  and  ordain  this  my  last 
will  and  testament;  that  is  to  say, 

Principally  and  first  of  all,  I  give  and  recommend  my  soul  into  the 
hand  of  Almighty  God  that  gave  it,  and  my  body  I  recommend  to  the 
earth  to  be  buried  in  decent  Christian  burial  at  the  discretion  of  my 
executor,  nothing  doubting  but  that  at  the  general  resurrection  I  shall 
receive  the  same  again  by  the  mighty  power  of  God  ;  and,  as  touching 
such  worldly  state  wherewith  it  hath  pleased  God  to  bless  me,  I  give, 
demise  and  dispose  of  the  same  in  the  following  manner  and  form  : 

Tn  primis:  All  my  just  debts  and  funeral  charges  being  well  and 
truly  paid  by  my  executor,  my  will  is,  and  I  do  hereby  give  and  demise 
to  the  Clapboard  Tree  precinct  in  Dedham  all  my  estate  that  lies  in 
money,  notes,  bonds,  and  book-debts,  excepting  the  articles  hereafter 
mentioned,  for  the  use  of  the  parish  forever.  The  use  of  said  money  is 
to  be  laid  out  in  a  woman's  school  near  the  meeting  house,  and  the  com- 
mittee of  said  precinct  and  their  successors  in  said  office  are  to  have  the 
care  of  said  money  and  to  see  that  the  use  of  said  money  be  laid  out  for 
the  use  above  mentioned  annually. 


56  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

For  a  period  of  thirty  or  forty  years,  beginning  near  the 
end  of  the  last  century,  a  school  was  kept  in  the  meeting- 
house with  the  proceeds  of  this  fund.  The  income  from  it 
was  only  seven  or  eight  dollars  a  year,  but  with  this  sum  a 
teacher  was  procured  for  a  period  of  from  three  to  six  weeks 
each  summer.  This  school  was  taught  from  1801  to  18 10 
by  Rebecca  Ellis,  Mary  Fairbanks,  Sela  Baker,  Fanny  Ellis, 
and  Betsy  Shepherd.  From  181 1  to  181 7,  the  teachers  were 
Lydia  Newell,  Mrs.  Mary  Colburn,  Polly  Baker,  and  Mrs. 
Hannah  Richards.  From  182 1  to  1828  it  was  taught  by 
Mrs.  Delia  White,  Cornelia  S.  Dwight,  and  Deborah  Baker ; 
and  from  1S31  to  1841  the  teachers  were  Rebecca  Ellis, 
Elizabeth  White,  and  Mrs.  Lydia  D.  White.  The  school 
was  not  opened  every  year,  for  the  amount  of  the  fund  was 
not  sufficient  to  make  this  possible.  For  the  year  1830,  the 
interest  was  added  to  the  salary  of  Mr.  White.  By  this 
time  there  was  no  longer  a  need  of  such  a  school,  and  from 
1844  the  fund  was  devoted  to  providing  books  for  the  Sun- 
day-school library. 

During  that  period  in  the  history  of  the  parish  which  we 
have  now  considered,  six  of  its  young  men  graduated  from 
Harvard  College, —  then,  as  now,  a  very  large  proportion  of 
a  population  of  less  than  four  hundred.  The  first  of  these 
was  Ebenezer  Gay,*  born  in  171 8,  graduated  in  1737,  settled 
in  Suffield,  Conn.,  in  1742,  where  he  was  the  minister  for 
fifty-four  years.  He  was  made  a  doctor  of  divinity,  and  was 
called  an  "able  and  learned  divine."  His  brother,  Bunker 
Gay,  was  born  in  1735,  graduated  in  1760,  and  was  settled 
over  the  church  in  Hinsdale,  N.H.,  in  1763.  In  1793,  he 
gave  a  Thanksgiving  sermon  in  verse,  from  which  these  lines 

are  taken :  — 

Our  equal  government  and  laws, 
Thro'  the  wide  world  gain  vast  applause ;. 
In  almost  every  foreign  nation 
These  are  preached  up  for  imitation. 

Our  guilt,  my  friends,  must  be  prodigious. 
If  freedom,  civil  and  religious, 
And  all  the  blessings  it  imparts, 
Make  no  impression  on  our  hearts. 

*See  New  England  Historic-Getiealogical  Register  for  January,  1879:  "John  Gay  of 
Dedham,  Mass.,  and  some  of  his  Descendants." 


REV.    ANDREW    TYLER,    THE    SECOND    MINISTER  5/ 

Samuel  Kingsbury  was  born  in  1736,  graduated  in  1759, 
and  became  the  minister  at  Edgartown,  Martha's  Vineyard. 
Joshua  Fisher  was  born  in  1748,  graduated  in  1766,  and  was 
a  physician  in  Ipswich  and  Beverly.  He  was  on  the  Ipswich 
Revolutionary  Committee  of  Correspondence,  a  president  of 
the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society,  and  endowed  a  profes- 
sorship of  Natural  History  at  Harvard.  His  interest  in  the 
Clapboard  Trees  parish  continued  active  throughout  his  life; 
and  he  gave  the  parish  three  thousand  dollars,  as  well  as  a 
bell.  The  next  graduate  was  Phillip  Draper,  born  in  1757, 
graduated  in  1780,  and  was  a  physician  in  South  Dedham, 
dying  in  181 7.  His  brother,  Ichabod  Draper,  was  born  in 
1755,  graduated  in  1783,  and  was  settled  in  1785. over  a 
church  in  Amherst.  He  resigned  in  1809,  but  lived  in  Am- 
herst until  his  death  in  1827.  Caleb  Ellis  was  born  in  1767, 
graduated  in  1793,  and  in  1800  settled  at  Claremont,  N.H., 
to  the  practice  of  the  law.  He  was  a  representative,  sen- 
ator, and  counsellor,  a  representative  in  Congress  and  a 
justice  in  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court  of  New  Hampshire. 

It  was  not  many  years  after  the  separate  life  of  the  parish 
began  before  the  people  wished  to  have  a  place  of  their  own 
for  the  burial  of  their  dead.  In  March,  1745,  this  action 
was  taken  :  — 

It  was  put:  to  see  if  it  be  the  mind  of  the  precinct  that  Joseph  Ellis, 
Deacon  Ellis  &  Deacon  Onion  be  a  comttee  to  agree  and  purchase  a 
piece  of  land  of  Joseph  Colburn  Junr.  for  a  burying  place  for  sd  pre- 
cinct.    Pass  :  in  the  affirm : 

The  parish  records  give  no  evidence  that  this  action  was 
carried  out.  Mr.  Locke  says  that  the  parish  purchased  half 
an  acre  of  land  of  Nathan  Kingsbury  in  1752  for  a  burial- 
place  ;  but  it  is  likely  to  have  been  a  year  or  two  earlier. 
In  March,  1747,  this  record  was  made  :  — 

It  was  put:  to  see  if  it  be  the  mind  of  the  precinct  to  grant  thirty 
pounds  old  tenor  to  buy  a  burying  cloth,  and  choose  a  comttee  to  buy  ye 
same.     Pass  :  in  affirm:  Deacon  Jos.  Ellis,  Nathaniel  Colburn,  comttee. 

Tradition  would  have  it  that  the  burial-ground  was  not 
purchased  without  serious  differences  of  opinion  as  to  the 


58  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

best  location.  It  is  said  that  on  one  occasion,  when  Mr. 
Tyler  was  attempting  to  reconcile  two  contending  parishion- 
ers, who  were  engaged  in  an  angry  dispute  on  the  subject, 
one  of  them  said,  "  I'll  never  be  buried  in  that  burying- 
ground  as  long  as  I  live  and  breathe. "  The  other  replied, 
"Well,  if  God  Almighty  spares  my  life,  I  will."  John 
Buckmaster,  who  died  Jan.  12,  1752,  in  his  seventy-first  year, 
was  the  first  person  whose  body  was  laid  in  this  burying- 
ground.  In  1848,  the  citizens  of  the  parish  erected  a  mon- 
ument to  his  memory.  The  first  head-stone  erected,  that  is 
now  standing  in  its  place,  bore  the  following  inscription  :  — 

1 1  1 :  R  E  L  Y  K  S 
V'^  JiODY  OF 
M  R  S  MARY 
C  O  L  V>  URN 
AGED  ABOUT 
Hcj  DIED  }KN 
30-1752 

In  this  inscription,  the  month  is  indicated  by  the  letters 
JEN,  which  were  probably  intended  for  January.  This  may 
have  been  the  second  interment.  There  are  no  quaint  or 
curious  inscriptions  in  the  burying-ground.  The  following, 
which  appears  on  several  head-stones,  and  frequently  in 
other  cemeteries,  is  to  be  found  over  the  grave  of  Ebenezer 
Kingsbury,  who  died  Sept.  3,  1775,  aged  seventy-two  years: 

Behold  &  see,  as  You  pass  by ; 
As  You  are  now,  so  once  was  I  ; 
As  I  am  now  so  must  You  be  : 
I'repare  for  Death  cv  follow  me. 

In  1780,  the  number  of  families  in  the  parish  was  seventy- 
one,  and  the  population  was  less  than  four  hundred.  Joseph 
Richards,  the  first  clerk  of  the  parish,  was  succeeded  in  that 
office  by  Isaac  Whiting,  who  held  the  position  irom  1756  to 
1766.  Deacon  Ichabod  Gay  was  the  clerk  of  the  parish 
from  1767  to  1793.  He  was  succeeded  in  1794  by  Nathaniel 
Kingsbury,  who  held  the  office  until  1798.  In  1799  and  the 
succeeding  year,  Benjamin   Fairbanks  was  clerk   and   Eben- 


REV.    ANDREW    TYTJCK,    THE    SECOND    MINISTER  59 

ezer  Fisher,  in  1801-2.  Previous  to  the  comiiiL:;  of  Mr. 
Thaclier  to  tlic  parish  in  1780,  the  first  deacons  had  l)een  suc- 
ceeded by  Ichabod  Gay  and  Ichabod  Ellis.  Deacon  Gay 
died  in  1814,  at  the  age  of  ninety-one,  and  Deacon  Ellis  in 
181 1,  at  the  age  of  sixty-nine.  Ichabod  Gay  was  born  in 
1723,  had  for  his  wives  Elizabeth  King  and  Lucy  Richards, 
was  a  selectman  in  1775  arid  for  the  three  succeeding  years, 
and  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  The  destruc- 
tion of  the  church  records  makes  it  impossible  to  give  the 
dates  when  the  deacons  were  elected  or  how  long  they 
served,  and  without  them  it  is  also  impossible  to  give  the 
dates  of  births  and  deaths  in  many  instances. 

The  parish  records  furnish  no  evidence  that  thej^recinct 
sent  any  men  to  the  French  and  Indian  wars  ;  but,  as  the 
south  or  Tiot  parish  did  so,  it  is  quite  probable  the  Chq)- 
board  Trees  may  have  furnished  both  men  and  money.  A 
military  company  was  formed  in  the  parish  soon  after  its 
legal  existence  began.  In  November,  1754,  according  to  the 
report  made  to  the  colonel  of  militia,  the  company  consisted 
of  a  full  list  of  officers  and  ninety-seven  privates.  The  cap- 
tain was  Joseph  Richards;  first  lieutenant,  Daniel  Draper; 
second  lieutenant,  Joseph  Richards,  Jr.  ;  ensign,  John  Jones. 
The  sergeants  were  Samuel  Colburn,  Joseph  Dean,  Samuel 
Fisher,  and  John  Chickering;  the  corporals,  Hezekiah  Allen, 
Jr.,  Oliver  Bacon,  John  Richards,  Jr.,  and  Ichabod  Gay. 
The  drummers  were  John  Colburn  and  Abiathar  Richards, 
and  the  clerk  was  Eliphalet  Baker.  Among  the  privates 
were  twelve  by  the  name  of  Ellis,  eight  Drapers,  the  same 
number  of  Gays,  six  Colburns,  five  each  by  the  name  of  Battle 
and  of  Richards,  and  four  each  who  were  named  Kingsbury, 
Whiting,  Fisher,  and  Chickering.  The  last  name  on  the  list 
was  that  of  the  Rev.  Andrew  Tyler.  This  company  must 
have  included  on  its  roster  nearly  all  the  able-bodied  men 
in  the  parish.  In  this,  as  in  other  parishes,  training  day 
became  a  holiday  occasion,  and  almost  equal  to  Thanksgiv- 
ing. But  the  day  was  not  one  of  mere  sport,  for  it  helped 
greatly  in  training  men  for  the  coming  struggle  with  Great 
Britain. 


6o  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

That  period  we  have  been  considering  was  a  formative  one 
in  the  history  of  the  parish  as  well  as  in  that  of  the  country. 
Through  dissensions  and  religious  controversies,  the  people 
were  seeking  a  higher  religious  expression  and  more  of  free- 
dom in  the  management  of  religious  affairs.  The  troubles 
in  the  Clapboard  Trees  parish  were  the  troubles  in  most  of 
the  parishes,  and  they  were  mild  compared  with  those  in 
some  other  towns.  The  spirit  of  liberty  was  growing,  and 
it  came  at  last  to  full  fruition.  In  the  preaching  of  Andrew 
Tyler  there  was  preparation  for  that  of  Thomas  Thacher, 
whose  Arminianism  led  finally  to  the  Unitarianism  of  later 
years.  On  this  quiet  country  side  there  lived  men  and 
women  who  prized  learning,  and  who  gave  their  children  the 
best  the  country  afforded.  We  should  be  glad  to  know  what 
books  men  read  in  those  days  in  this  parish  and  what  they 
were  saying  on  the  political  and  religious  questions  of  the 
day ;  but,  in  the  absence  of  such  information,  we  can  be 
sure  they  lived  good  lives  and  served  their  country  truly, 
whether  on  the  farm  or  with  the  Continental  Army. 


V. 

THE   PARISH    IN    THE   REVOLUTIONARY   WAR. 

We  have  now  arrived  at  the  time  of  the  struggle  for 
American  independence,  and  the  slowness  in  calling  a  min- 
ister may  have  been  caused  in  large  degree  by  the  concen- 
tration of  all  the  energies  of  the  parish  upon  that  effort  for 
liberty.  The  Clapboard  Trees  precinct  bore  an  h'onorable 
part  in  raising  money  and  in  furnishing  men,  and  the 
records  would  indicate  that  the  spirit  of  patriotism  burned 
strong  and  steadfast  among  the  people.  A  complete  ac- 
count of  what  was  done  by  the  precinct  cannot  be  ob- 
tained from  the  parish  records,  for  it  bore  its  share  in  what 
was  done  by  the  town  as  well  as  in  its  own  capacity  as  a 
precinct.  It  provided  itself  with  firearms  in  1777,  in  order 
to  be  ready  for  any  emergency  ;  but  there  is  no  account  of 
its  separate  action  at  Lexington  and  Concord,  as  its  men 
joined  with  those  of  the  first  and  second  precincts.  A 
meeting  of  the  parish,  held  in  May,  1778,  affords  a  curious 
illustration  of  the  time.  At  that  meeting,  two  subjects 
were  up  for  consideration, —  the  hiring  of  money  to  enable 
the  parish  to  provide  its  quota  of  men  and  the  cutting  of  the 
bushes  on  the  parish  lands.  The  money  was  voted,  but  it 
was  decided  to  permit  the  bushes  to  grow.  It  was  not  a 
time  then  for  cutting  bushes.  Men  were  needed  for  a  more 
important  service. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  parish,  held  in  October,  1777,  it  was 
decided  to  take  into  consideration  all  the  services  rendered 
in  the  parish  from  the  beginning  of  the  war,  in  order  that 
all  the  men  might  be  properly  compensated,  and  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  report  on  the  subject ;  and  there 
now  exists  among  the  parish  papers  the  schedule  this  com- 
mittee  drew  up  of   the   men  who   served    and   the  sum  of 


62      ,        THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

money  to  be  paid  to  each.  All  the  entries  on  the  records 
concerning  the  war,  including  the  above-mentioned  schedule, 
are  here  printed  in  full :  — 

October  22,  1777. —  Voted  to  take  into  consideration  all  the  services 
done  in  this  precinct  since  April,  1775,  respecting  the  present  war,  in 
order  that  there  may  be  an  average  made  by  way  of  tax. 

Voted  to  choose  a  committee  to  estimate  said  services.  Voted  to 
choose  three  for  said  committee;  chose  Ichabod  Gay,  Capt.  Isaac 
Colburn  and  Mr.  Ebenezar  Smith. 

Voted  and  granted  the  sum  of  eighteen  pounds,  fifteen  shillings  to 
pay  for  fire  arms. 

Voted  to  add  two  to  the  committee  already  chosen  to  estimate  the 
services  done  the  present  war;  chose  Capt.  Abel  Richards  and  Lt. 
Joseph   Ellis. 

November  5,  1777. —  The  committee  chose  to  estimate  the  services 
done  in  this  precinct  respecting  the  present  war  exhibited  a  report, 
which  was  accepted  and  is  on  file. 

Voted  and  granted  the  sum  of  six  hundred  and  twenty  pounds  to  be 
levied  on  the  polls  and  ratable  estates  in  this  precinct  to  defray  the 
charge  of  the  present  war. 

Dedham,  Novr.  5th,  1777. 
We,  the  subscribers,  being  chose  a  committee  to  estimate  the  ser- 
vices done  in  this  precinct  since  April  1775,  respecting  the  present  war, 
have  attended  said  services  and  report  as  follows,  viz :  sums  of  money 
paid: 

Joseph  Gay, £<^  o     o 

Moses  Gay, 6  00 

Joseph  Draper, 6  00 

Benjamin  Fairbanks, 11  00 

Theodore  Gay,        15  00 

Lt.  Nathaniel  Colburn, 6  00 

Lt.  John  Richards, 6  00 

Jeremiah  Baker, 5  00 

Jonathan  Onion, 7  00 

Enoch  Kingsbury, 7  00 

Ichabod  Gay, 12  00 

Fisher  Whiting, 10  00 

Isaac  Colburn, 10  00 

Abner  Ellis, 10  00 

David  Ellis, 5  00 

Joseph  Ellis, 6  00 

William  Ellis, 10  00 

Job  Buckmaster, 5  00 

Timothy  BuUard, 7  00 


5 

o 

0 

5 

o 

o 

5 

o 

o 

6 

o 

o 

6 

o 

o 

6 

0 

o 

3 

o 

o 

3 

o 

o 

6 

o 

0 

5 

o 

o 

2 

0 

0 

2 

10 

o 

5 

o 

o 

5 

o 

o 

5 

o 

o 

5 

0 

o 

5 

o 

o 

5 

0 

o 

5 

o 

0 

5 

0 

0 

8 

o 

0 

I 

o 

o 

THE    PARISH    IN    THE    REVOLUTIONARY    WAR  63 

Timothy  Colburn 

Jonathan  Ellis, 

Ichabod  Ellis, 

Timothy  Draper, 

Oliver  Ellis, 

Samuel  Pettee, 

David  Colburn, 

Ichabod  Colburn, 

Eliakim  Richards, 

William  Gay,      . 

Seth  Gay, 

Capt.  Abel  Richards,       .... 

Josiah  Gay, 

Eliphalet  Baker, 

John  Colburn,  Jr., 

Jonathan  Colburn, 

Isaac  Everett, 

Thomas  Buckmaster, 

Nathan  Ellis, 

Henry  Glover, 

Ebenezar  Gay, 

Nathaniel  Whiting, 

£2<fi     10    o 

That  the  men  that  served  at  or  near  Boston  in  1775  eight  months 
recieve  the  sum  of  £2  8  o  each  man.     ^24  o  o. 

Their  names  :  Andrew  Lewis,  Nathan  Colburn,  Lewis  Colburn,  Pele- 
tiah  Herring,  John  Carbe,  Henry  Glover  for  Simeon  Colburn,  Joseph 
Baker,  Benjamin  French,  William  Fairbanks,  Thomas  Colburn ;  and 
Joseph  Dean  Jr.,  and  Peletiah  Herring  Jr.,  for  four  months,  the  sums 
of  ^i  40  each.     £2  8  o. 

The  men  that  served  in  1776  in  the  Continental  service  at  York  and 
Ticonderoga  recieve  the  sum  of  ^18  o  o  each.  Their  names  :  Lt.  John 
Gay  and  Wm.  Fairbanks.     ^36  o  o. 

That  Ebenezar  Fisher  tliat  served  five  months  at  Ticonderoga  re- 
cieve the  sum  of  ^10  o  o. 

That  Nathaniel  Fisher  Jr.  recieve  the  sum  of  £s  o  o. 

That  John  Buckmaster  recieve  the  sum  of  £/\.  o  o. 

MONEY   PAID. 

Capt.  David  Fairbanks,  deceased,    .     .       £2       o     o 

Eliphalet  Baker  Jr., 5       00 

Timothy  Smith, 4     10     o 

Ebenezar  Smith, 800 

Timothy  Baker  Jr., 5       00 

24  10  o 
Nathaniel  Whiting, 600 

30     10     0 


64  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

To  hire  men  to  go  to  Ticonderago,  .     .   ^^157     10     o 
To  hire  men  to  go  to  Tiverton,    ...         57     12     o 


Sum  total,        ;^598       2 

Ichabod  Gay,  by  order, 48 


602     10     o 

November  5th  1777. —  It  was  put:  to  see  if  it  be  the  mind  of  the 
precinct  to  accept  the  forgoing  report;  passed  in  the  affirmative.  Attest, 
Ichabod  Gay,  Precinct  Clerk. 

Deer.  1777. —  Each  man  £2  12  o  first  eight  months. 

March,  1778. —  Capt.  John  Gay  ^5;  Nathan  Lewis  ^18  10;  John 
Andrews  £'^. 

December  22,  1777. —  Voted  to  choose  a  committee  to  procure  men 
for  the  service  of  the  present  war,  when  legally  called  for.  Voted  to 
choose  five  for  said  committee ;  chose  Capt.  Abel  Richards,  Lt.  Joseph 
Ellis,  Lt.  Nathaniel  Colburn,  Capt.  Daniel  Gay  and  Deacon  Ichabod 
Gay.     Voted  that  this  committee  continue  until  next  March. 

Voted  that  the  men  that  are  now  in  the  service  of  the  war  be  paid 
out  of  the  precinct  treasury. 

It  was  put;  to  see  if  it  be  the  mind  of  the  precinct  to  allow  the  men 
that  served  eight  months  in  the  war  in  the  year  1775  any  further  com- 
pensation. Passed  in  the  affirmative.  Voted  to  allow  each  man  two 
pounds   twelve  shillings  in  addition   to  wdiat   they  have   been  allowed. 

Voted  and  granted  the  sum  of  one  hundred  pounds  to  hire  men  for 
the  service  of  the  present  war. 

March  16,  1778. —  Voted  to  choose  a  committee  to  hire  men  to  go 
into  the  service  of  the  war  when  legally  called  for.  Voted  to  choose 
five  for  said  committee;  chose  David  Ellis,  Lt.  John  Gay,  Jonathan  Col- 
burn, Lewis  Colburn  and  Nathaniel  Whiting. 

March  23,  1778. —  Voted  to  allow  Lt.  John  Gay  five  pounds  for  his 
service  in  the  war  eight  months  in  the  year  1775.  It  was  put;  to  see  if 
it  be  the  mind  of  the  precinct  to  allow  Lt.  John  Gay  the  further  sum  of 
five  pounds  for  his  service  twelve  months  in  the  war.  Passed  in  the 
negative. 

It  was  put;  to  see  if  it  be  the  mind  of  the  precinct  to  allow  Nathan 
Lewis  thirteen  pounds  ten  shillings  for  his  service  in  the  Continental 
army  in  the  year  1776,  which  sum,  together  with  £\  10  o  which  his  father 
has  been  abated  in  the  war  tax,  makes  the  sum  of  ;/^i8  o  o,  being  equal 
to  grants  made  to  others,  namely,  Lt.  John  Gay  and  Wm.  Fairbanks. 
Passed  in  the  negative. 

Voted  to  allow  Nathan  Lewis  the  sum  of  eleven  jDounds  fifteen  shil- 
lings for  his  service  in  the  war  in  the  year  1776. 

Voted  and  granted  the  sum  of  four  hundred  pounds  to  defray  the 
charge  of  the  war  the  ensuing  year. 

Voted  to  excuse  the  committee  chosen  to  hire  men  for  the  service 


THE    PARISH    IN    THE    REVOLUTIONARY    WAR  65 

of  the  war,  according  to  their  desire.  Voted  to  choose  a  committee  to 
hire  men  to  go  into  the  service  of  the  war  when  legally  called  for. 
Voted  to  choose  three;  chose  Capt.  Daniel  Gay,  Joseph  Draper  and 
Ichabod  Gay. 

May  13,  1778. —  Voted  to  empower  Joseph  Gay,  precinct  treasurer,  to 
hire  money  on  behalf  of  the  parish  to  enable  the  committee  to  hire  men 
for  the  service  of  the  war. 

September  9,  1778. —  Voted  and  granted  the  sum  of  twelve  hundred 
pounds  to  defray  the  charge  of  hiring  men  for  the  service  of  the  war. 

March  8,  1779. —  Voted  to  allow  Ichabod  Gay  his  account  of  £(>  18  o 
for  his  service  in  hiring  men  for  the  war.  Voted  to  allow  Capt.  Daniel 
Gay  ^6180  for  his  service.  Voted  to  choose  a  committee  to  reckon 
with  the  committee  that  was  chose  to  hire  men  for  the  service  of  the 
war.  Voted  to  choose  three;  chose  Capt.  Abel  Richards,  Capt.  Isaac 
Colburn  and  Mr.  Enoch  Kingsbury. 

Voted  and  granted  the  sum  of  five  hundred  pounds  to  hire  men  for 
the  service  of  the  war.  Voted  to  choose  a  committee  to  hire  men  for 
the  war  when  legally  called  for.  Voted  to  choose  three  for  said  com- 
mittee ;  chose  Deacon  Ichabod  Gay,  Capt.  Daniel  Gay  and  Deacon 
Ichabod  Ellis. 

Voted  to  allow  Capt.  Abel  Richards  his  service  in  the  war  in  the 
year  1778  the  same  price  a  soldier  had  that  went  with  him  from  this 
parish. 

June  17,  1779.—  Voted  and  granted  the  sum  of  one  thousand  pounds 
to  defray  the  charge  of  hiring  men  for  the  service  of  the  war. 

Voted  to  allow  Benjamin  Fairbanks  a  further  sum  of  four  pounds  for 
service  done  in  the  war. 

June  27,  1783. —  Voted  to  allow  Mr.  Nathaniel  Fisher  Jr.,  the  sum  of 
one  pound  five  shillings  as  a  further  compensation  for  his  service  in 
the  war. 

March  12,  1787. —  Voted  and  directed  the  committee  to  give  orders 
to  the  men  that  advanced  money  for  the  soldiers  lately  •  called  for  by 
government. 

It  was  not  until  1788  that  all  the  money  borrowed  for  the 
hiring  of  soldiers  had  been  paid.  In  1785,  Ebenezer  Fisher 
and  Nathaniel  Fisher  were  paid  for  services  in  the  war ;  and 
in  1786  compensation  was  made  to  Abagail  Pratt  for  her  son, 
Benjamin  Andrews,  and  Jonathan  Onion. 

During  the  period  of  the  war,  and  for  some  time  after- 
wards, the  people  must  have  been  very  poor,  as  the  result  of 
the  depreciation  of  the  Continental  money,  and  because  the 
usual    avenues  of  trade  were    closed.     Paper  money  so  far 


66  THE    CLAPBOARD    TREES    PARISH 

lost  its  value  that  in  November,  1780,  the  parish  voted  to 
receive  gold  and  silver  at  the  rate  of  one  pound  for  seventy- 
five  pounds  paper  money.  The  parish  records  afford  two 
or  three  interesting  illustrations  of  this  depreciation  in 
money  values.  Deacon  Ichabod  Ellis  was  paid  two  hundred 
pounds  for  boarding  Mr.  Thacher  seven  weeks  in  1779  or 
1780.  In  March,  1781,  Eliphalet  Baker  was  paid  fifty-four 
pounds  for  one  cord  of  wood  for  the  use  of  Mr.  Thacher, 
and  Timothy  Baker  was  paid  forty-eight  pounds  for  two 
loads  of  wood  for  the  same  purpose.  A  little  later  in  the 
same  year,  Capt.  Abel  Richards  and  Job  Buckmaster  were 
each  paid  twenty-seven  pounds  for  a  load  of  wood  for  Mr. 
Thacher.  In  1782,  the  parish  accounts  seem  to  have  been 
kept  on  the  basis  of  gold ;  for,  in  the  latter  part  of  that  year, 
only  six  and  seven  shillings  per  cord  were  paid  for  wood. 
In  the  year  1780  and  1781,  when  the  parish  paid  Mr. 
Thacher  sixty  pounds  each  year  as  a  settlement  gratuity, 
they  voted  to  raise  4,125  pounds  for  this  purpose.  Such 
was  the  difference  between  gold  and  paper,  which  was  as 
one  to  sixty-eight  and  three-fourths. 

In  the  archives  at  the  State  House  are  preserved  the 
muster  rolls  of  many  of  the  companies  which  served  on  the 
19th  of  April,  1775,  and  at  later  periods  during  the  Revolu- 
tion. Three  companies  went  from  the  Clapboard  Trees  on 
the  19th  of  April,  the  muster  rolls  of  which  are  there  pre- 
served. These  were  led  by  Daniel  Draper,  Daniel  Fair- 
banks, and  William  Ellis  ;  and  the  rank,  days  of  service, 
miles  travelled,  and  pay  allowed  were  carefully  recorded  and 
sworn  to  by  the  captain  of  each  company.  It  is  possible 
that  all  the  men  forming  these  three  companies  were  not 
from  the  Clapboard  Trees,  but  most  of  them  must  have  been 
residents  of  the  parish.  In  some  instances,  Clapboard  Trees 
men  served  in  other  Dedham  companies.  In  order  to  make 
this  record  as  complete  as  possible,  these  muster  rolls  are 
here  reproduced  in  full  :  — 

A  list  of  a  Company  that  marclied  from  the  third  parish  in  Dedham, 
in  the  alarm  occasioned  by  the  Lexington  battle,  on  April  19,  1775, 
under  the  command  of  Capt.  Daniel  Draper  in  Col.  Davis'  Regiment. 


THE    PARISH     IN    THIC    KKVOf.UTIONARY    WAR  6/ 

Miles  Days  Total, 

distance,  allowed. 

Daniel  Draper,  Capt., 24  6  1782 

Nathan  Ellis,  Scrj., 24  6  12     3  i 

Tim.  Draper,  Serj., 24  4  8  10  i 

Job  Buckmaster, 24  4  782 

David  Ellis, 24  6  1063 

Amasa  Farrington, 24  2  4  10  i 

Ezra  Gay, 24  6  10     6  3 

Jerem  Baker, 24  2  4  lo- 1 

Enoch  Kingsbury, 24  4  782 

Jon^i  Onion,       24  2  4  10  i 

Aaron  Ellis, 24  2  4  10  i 

Sam^  Colburn,  Jr., 24  ,2  4  10  i 

William  Gay, 24  2  4  10  i 

Jon^  Whiting, 24  2  4  10  i 

Simeon  Colburn, 24  2  4  10  i 

John  Colburn, 24  6  10     6  3 

Joseph  Dean, 22  2  4  10  i 

And^  Lewis, 24  2  4  10  i 

Fisher  Whiting, 24  2  4   10  i 

Daniel  Gay, 24  2  4  10  i 

Seth  Gay, 24  i  35 

Jonathan  Ellis, 24  2  4  10  i 

Isaac  Whiting, 24  2  4   10  i 

Nathaniel  Colburn, 24  4  782 

^8.15.     oi 

Suffolk  ss  Januy  5,  1776.  Then  Capt.  Daniel  Draper  came  be- 
fore me  and  made  oath  that  the  above  muster  roll  is  just  and  true  accord- 
ing to  his  knowledge. 

Before  Nat.  Sumner,  Justice  of  the  Peace. 

Dedham,  December  the  14th,  1775. 
A  list  of  a  Party  of  Soldiers  in  a  Militia  Company  in  Dedham,  under 
the  command  of  David  Fairbanks,  and  in  Col.  Heath's  Reg*,  that  was 
in  the  Service  on  the  alarm  the  19th  April,  1775. 

Names.  Rank.  Days  Amount. 

service. 

David  Fairbanks, Capt.  2     ;^o    8     6^ 

Jonathan  Colburn, Lieut.  2  07  10^ 

Joseph  Draper, Serjt.  2  057 

Joseph  Dean, Corpl.  2  053 

Oliver  Ellis, Corpl.  2  053 

Abel  Richards, Private  2  05 

Daniel  Smith, '*  2  05 

Ezra  Gay, "  2  05 

Samuel  Colburn, ■    .  •'  2  05 

John  Farrington,  .,.,....,  ''  2  O     5 


68 


THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 


Timothy  Baker, Private 

Samuel  Baker, 

Abner  Smith, 

Lemuel  Herring, 


2 

o 

5 

2 

0 

5 

2 

0 

5 

2 

o 

5 

£3 

17 

6 

Fairbanks,  Capt 

Colony  Massachusetts  Bay,  Jan.  the  25th,  1776. 
David  Fairbanks  made  solemn  oath  that  this  roll,  by  him  subscribed, 
is  true  in  all  its  parts,  according  to  the  best  of  his  knowledge. 

Before  Samuel  Hatten,  Justice  Peace,  thro'  the  Colony. 


A  Muster  Rolfof  the  Company  under  the  command  of  Capt.  William 
Ellis  of  Col.  Heath's  Regiment,  1775. 


Mens  names. 

William  Ellis,   . 
Jonathan  Colburn 
Joseph  Ellis, 
Benj.  Fairbanks, 
Ebenezer  Fisher, 
Eliphalet  Baker, 
Oliver  Ellis, 
William  Gay,     . 
Timothy  Baker, 
Timothy  Smith, 
David  Smith,     . 
Abner  Smith,     . 
Jonathan  Whiting, 
Ebenezer  Herring, 
Ichabod  Colburn, 
Simeon  Colburn, 
Abel  Richards, 
John  Richards, 
Seth  Gay,      .     . 
Samuel  (?)  Baker 
Ezra  Gay,      .     . 
John  Farrington, 
Nathaniel  Whiting 
Fisher  Whiting, 
Isaac  Everett,    . 
Samuel  Pettee, 
Samuel  Gay, 
David  Dean, 
Nathaniel  Baker, 
Jonathan  Onion, 
Isaac  Comecher, 


Errors  excepted,  Wm.  Ellis. 


Rank. 


Travel       Time  of        Whole  amount. 


miles. 

service. 

Capt. 

36 

9  days. 

2     5 

7i 

Lt. 

36 

5 

18 

9i 

Serj. 

36 

4 

II 

6i 

" 

36 

8 

18 

4i 

u 

36 

9 

I    0 

I 

Corp. 

36 

4 

10 

10 

" 

36 

2 

7 

9 

« 

36 

4 

10 

lOi 

Private 

36 

2 

7 

3 

«< 

36 

9 

17 

2 

« 

36 

6 

12 

II 

<( 

36 

2 

7 

3 

(( 

36 

9 

17 

2 

« 

36 

8 

IS 

9 

« 

36 

9 

17 

2 

« 

36 

9 

17 

2 

« 

36 

9 

II 

6 

•* 

36 

9 

17 

2 

(( 

36 

4 

ID 

I 

« 

36 

5 

II 

6 

(( 

36 

I 

5 

10 

(( 

36 

5 

II 

6 

" 

36 

5 

II 

6 

(( 

36 

5 

II 

6 

(( 

36 

9 

17 

2 

(( 

36 

5 

1 1 

6 

« 

36 

2 

7 

3 

« 

36 

3 

8 

8 

« 

5 

7 

I   in 

the  Army 

(( 

3 

4 

3 

'* 

(( 

9 

12 

_9 

« 

;^20   14     1^ 


THE    PARISH    IN    THE    REVOLUTIONARY    WAR  69 

Middlesex  ss  Decern.  20,  1775.  Ih^  above  named  William  Ellis 
made  solemn  oath  that  the  above  Muster  Roll,  by  him  subscribed,  is 
just  and  true  in  all  its  parts. 

Before  me,  Moses  Gill,  Justice  Peace,  thro'  the  province. 

On  the  19th  of  April,  the  alarm  came  by  a  messenger  who 
passed  through  Needham  and  Dover.  The  militia  com- 
panies had  long  been  in  training,  and  were  ready  to  march 
on  the  shortest  notice.  When  the  alarm  was  given,  the  men 
at  once  dropped  every  employment,  and  mustered  rapidly  at 
Dedham  village.  From  there  they  marched  to  the  scene  of 
action,  the  company  of  each  parish  acting  for  itself  or  join- 
ing the  regiment  to  which  it  belonged.  The  alarm  came  at 
nine  o'clock,  and  the  three  hundred  Dedham  men  joined  in 
the  attack  on  the  British  soldiers  as  they  retreated  from 
Concord  and  Lexington.  No  one  from  the  Clapboard 
Trees  was  either  wounded  or  killed. 

At  the  close  of  the  war,  the  people  were  in  a  condition  of 
poverty.  The  chief  articles  of  food  were  potatoes,  salted 
pork,  and  corn  meal.  In  one  family,  seven  pounds  of  wheat 
flour  were  bought  as  a  special  Thanksgiving  luxury.  In  the 
same  family,  the  only  way  of  securing  money  for  the  pay- 
ment of  taxes,  which  were  very  heavy,  was  by  going  into 
the  woods  of  the  father  and  his  sons  for  several  days,  burn- 
ing a  pit  of  charcoal,  and  carting  that  to  Boston  with  an  ox- 
team,  sleeping  under  the  cart  for  one  night  on  the  trip,  and 
eating  the  scanty  meals  which  were  taken  from  home.  On 
one  such  journey  to  Boston,  the  father  advised  his  sons  to 
go  to  England,  for  this  country,  he  said,  was  ruined,  and  it 
would  never  know  prosperity  again. 


VI. 


SETTLING   A   NEW    MINISTER. 

Notwithstanding  the  continuance  of  the  war,  and  the 
financial  depression  which  went  with  it,  in  the  autumn  of 
1779  the  parish  repaired  its  meeting-house  and  called  a  min- 
ister. At  a  meeting  held  Oct.  18,  1779,  the  parish  voted 
unanimously  to  concur  with  the  church  in  calling  Thomas 
Thacher  to  that  office.  From  the  treasurer's  book,  it  would 
appear  that  Mr.  Thacher  first  preached  in  the  Clapboard 
Trees  parish  in  the  summer  of  1778;  for,  in  September 
of  that  year,  it  i^  recorded  that  he  was  paid  ten  pounds  for 
preaching.  In  December,  he  was  paid  seventeen  pounds ; 
but  he  did  not  preach  again  until  the  following  summer, 
when  in  July  he  was  paid  twenty-seven  pounds.  The 
young  man,  just  from  his  studies,  was  not  hastily  decided 
upon  ;  and  he  did  not  hastily  accept  the  request  to  become 
the  minister  of  the  parish.  On  the  part  of  the  parish  there 
was  the  difficulty  of  the  financial  depression  and  the  stagna- 
tion of  all  business  to  contend  with  ;  and  there  was  also 
the  remembrance  of  the  troubles  with  Mr.  Tyler.  Both  of 
these  appear  in  the  action  taken  by  the  parish  at  a  meeting 
held  Nov.  5,  1779.  At  this  time,  the  following  items  of 
business  were  transacted,  as  appears  from  the    records  :  — 

Voted  that  the  parish  will  maintain  Mr.  Thomas  Thacher  honorably 
while  he  shall  remain  our  minister ;  and  as  the  state  of  our  currency  is 
so  fluctuating  and  uncertain  at  present  that  we  are  at  a  loss  to  determine 
what  sum  will  be  sufiicient  for  that  purpose,  we  desire  him,  if  he  has 
any  inclination  to  settle  with  us,  to  confer  upon  the  premises  with  the 
committee  we  shall  choose  for  that  purpose.  Also  voted,  for  the  rea- 
sons above-said,  that  it  is  our  desire,  further,  that  the  said  committee 
confer  with  Mr.  Thacher  with  regard  to  an  encouragement  to  him  to 


SETTLING    A    NEW    MINISTER  /I 

Also  voted  and  come  to  the  following  resolve,  that,  whereas,  tliere 
are  sometimes  great  dissensions  between  Minister  and  people,  which  we 
earnestly  pray  may  never  be  the  case  with  us,  yet  should  that  happen, 
and  Mr.  Thacher  should  desire  a  separation,  he  has  liberty  by  this  our 
proposal  to  a  discharge  of  his  pastoral  oflice  among  us.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  the  major  part  of  the  precinct  shall  any  time  in  future  by  their 
handwriting  signify  to  him  their  desire  of  a  dissolution  of  his  pastoral 
ofifice  among  us  he  shall  consent  thereto.  However,  in  either  case,  dis- 
interested men  are  to  judge  of  the  terms,  all  parties  and  circumstances 
to  be  heard  and  considered.  Nevertheless,  all  methods  for  peace  and 
reconciliation,  as  pointed  out  in  the  Gospel,  are  to  be  pursued  for  peace 
and  harmony. 

The  committee  chosen  to  confer  with  Mr.  Thacher  con- 
sisted of  Capt.  Daniel  Draper,  Mr.  Eliphalet  Baker,  Mr. 
Joseph  Gay,  Deacon  Ichabod  Gay,  Capt.  Daniel  Gay,  Mr. 
Abner  Ellis,  and  Mr.  Nathaniel  Whiting.  Much  difficulty 
seems  to  have  been  met  with  in  making  satisfactory  arrange- 
ments, for  the  parish  held  no  less  than  eight  adjourned 
meetings  during  the  winter  before  it  arrived  at  a  final  de- 
cision. At  a  meeting  held  Feb.  14,  1780,  it  came  to  the 
followino:  conclusions  :  — 


'iD 


Voted  to  grant  Mr.  Thomas  Thacher  one  hundred  and  ten  pounds 
lawful  money  as  an  encouragement  for  him  to  settle  with  us,  to  be  paid 
to  him  one-half  in  the  year  1780,  the  other  half  in  the  year  1781,  in  gold 
or  silver  or  the  value  thereof  in  Continental  currency  as  the  exchange 
shall  be  at  the  time  of  payment,  as  also  reference  being  had  to  the 
price  of  land  at  the  time  aforesaid. 

Voted  Mr.  Thacher  shall  have  the  improvement  of  the  six  acres  of 
land  which  belongs  to  the  precinct  so  long  as  he  is  our  Minister. 

Voted  to  supply  Mr.  Thacher  with  fire-wood  for  his  own  use  so  long 
as  he  shall  remain  our  Minister,  to  be  delivered  at  his  dwelling,  not 
exceeding  twenty-five  cords  per  year. 

Whereas,  the  precinct  have  voted  to  support  Mr.  Thacher  honorably 
while  he  is  our  Minister,  but  have  not  mentioned  any  sum  for  that 
purpose,  therefore,  as  an  explanation   thereof. 

Voted  and  granted  Mr.  Thacher  sixty-seven  pounds  lawful  money 
annually,  to  be  paid  in  the  proportion  hereafter  mentioned,  viz :  beef  at 
twenty  shillings  per  hundred  weight,  rye  at  four  shillings  per  bushel  and 
Indian  corn  at  three  shillings  four  pence  per  bushel,  sheeps  wool  at  one 
shilling  four  pence  per  pound  and  sole  leather  at  one  shilling  two  pence 
per  pound ;  and,  whereas  the  war  is  very  distressing  to  the  people,  we 
do  reserve  a  right  to  deduct  one-third  (or  any  part  of  said  third)  part  of 


72  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

said  sixty-seven  pounds  during  the  present  war  with  Great  Britain,  and 
two  years  after  said  war  shall  cease. 

After  nearly  two  months  more  of  deliberation,  Mr. 
Thacher  sent  the  following  acceptance,  here  reproduced  with 
the  spelling  and  punctuation  of  the  parish  records:  — 

To   the    Church   and    Congregation    of   Christ   in    Dedham,  Clapboard 

tree  Precinct 
Brethren, 

I  have  considered  the  invitation  you  have  given  me  to  settle  with  you 
as  your  Pastor  with  that  attention  which  the  importance  of  the  subject 
requires.  After  weighing  all  circumstances  that  respect  you  and  my- 
self: and  having  asked  counsel  of  heaven  in  this  serious  affair,  I  think 
it  my  duty  to  comply  with  your  request.  • 

The  difficulty  that  attends  this  office  is  at  all  times  great:  and  a  con- 
currence of  circumstances  at  this  Day  render  it  peculiarly  so.  The 
catholic  and  liberal  sentiments  among  you  which  I  have  observed  from 
my  earliest  acquaintance  with  you  have  encouraged  me  to  hope  that  it 
will  in  some  degree  be  lightned.  I  hope  also  that  the  same  principles 
will  prevail  upon  you  to  exercise  that  candor  and  indulgence  towards 
me  ;  of  which  Youth  and  Inexperience  hath  constant  occasion. 

The  offers  contained  in  your  votes  of  the  14th  of  February  last  you 
must  be  sensible  are  moderate :  The  distresses  of  the  country  are  an 
apology.  I  am  far  from  wishing  to  be  exemted  from  the  sufferings  of 
my  Brethren,  and  am  as  willing  to  share  in  their  afflictions  as  to  rejoice 
in  their  prosperity.  In  respect  to  the  article  where  you  reserve  a  right 
of  deducting  "  one  third  part  of  the  sum  you  have  voted  during  the  pres- 
ent war  and  two  years  after  it  shall  cease  "  I  acquiesce  confiding  at  the 
same  time  in  your  honour  and  generosety  that  you  will  not  construe  it 
in  a  more  vigorous  sense  than  what  the  exigencies  of  the  publick  and  of 
individuals  shall  render  necessary. 

I  earnestly  desire  your  prayers  for  me  that  I  may  be  furnished  with 
Wisdom,  and  Piety  and  all  those  gifts  and  graces  needfull  for  the 
employment  of  a  gospel  Minister  in  order  that  I  may  be  usefull  to  you 
and  to  myself.  I  return  you  my  sincere  thanks  for  your  kindness  and 
favorable  opinion.     May  the  best  of  the  Divine  blessings  rest  upon  you. 

I  remain  your  sincere  friend. 


Dedham  April  4th  1780 


y%— .^<<l->^ 


SETTLING    A    NEW    MINISTER  73 

Mr.  Thacher  was  ordained  on  Wednesday,  the  4th  of  June, 
1780.  The  sermon  was  preached  by  his  brother,  the  Rev. 
Peter  Thacher  of  Maiden,  afterwards  of  the  Brattle  Street 
Church,  Boston.  The  Rev.  Samuel  West,  of  Needham, 
offered  the  introductory  prayer ;  the  Rev.  Mr.  Robbins,  of 
Milton,  gave  the  charge  ;  the  Rev.  Josiah  Haven,  of  the 
tirst  church  in  Dedham,  gave  the  right  hand  of  fellowship  ; 
and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cummings,  of  Billerica,  offered  the  con- 
cluding prayer.  The  first  and  second  churches  in  Dedham, 
the  second  in  Berwick,  and  the  churches  in  Needham, 
Dover,  Medfield,  Maiden,  Milton,  and  Billerica  were  invited 
to  join  in  the  service. 

Having  settled  a  minister,  the  parish  went  quietly  on  its 
way  for  many  years,  and  during  the  first  twenty-five  years 
of  Mr.  Thacher's  ministry  furnished  little  for  the  recording 
pen  of  the  historian.  In  1780,  "a.  number  of  men  were 
chosen  to  inspect  the  boys,  and  in  case  of  misdemeanor,  to 
bring  them  down  to  their  parents  or  masters  or  the  hind 
seat "  ;  which  would  indicate  that  the  boys  were  usually 
seated  by  themselves  in  the  galleries. 

In  1 78 1,  committees  were  appointed  by  the  third  and  first 
parishes  to  establish  a  line  between  the  two  parishes.  These 
committees  consisted  of  Capt.  Daniel  Gay,  Deacon  Ichabod 
Gay,  and  Mr.  Abner  Ellis  for  the  third  parish,  and  of  Jona- 
than Metcalf,  Esq.,  Deacon  William  Avery,  and  Mr.  Isaac 
Whiting  for  the  first.  These  committees,  having  viewed  the 
grounds,  decided  on  a  boundary  line,  which  was  legalized  by 
an  act  of  the  General  Court,  and  which  they  described  as 
follows  :  — 

Beginning  at  the  cross  ways,  so-called,  near  the  dwelling-house  of 
Messrs  Ebenezer  and  Samuel  Gay,  and  running  a  straight  line  north- 
wardly or  Northwesterly  to  the  Northwest  corner  of  a  wood-lot  belonging 
to  the  church  in  the  first  parish  in  said  Dedham,  where  it  meets  with 
Medfield  road,  so-called,  at  the  Northeast  corner  of  Eliphalet  Baker's 
land,  and  continuing  the  same  straight  line  to  Rockfield  road,  so-called  ; 
then  turning  westwardly  in  said  road  and  running  in  the  same  as  it 
is  now  laid  out  to  the  bridge  at  the  cedar  swamp  so-called,  and  so 
on  in  said  road  until  it  meets  with  the  line  of  Springfield  parish  in 
said  town. 


74  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

In  1794,  a  division  line  was  established  between  the  third 
and  second  parishes,  which  was  described  as  a  "course  from 
the  house  of  Asa  Fisher,  formerly  Richard  Ellis's,  to  the 
center  between  where  the  South  parish  meeting-house  for- 
merly stood  and  the  Clapboard  Tree  meeting-house,  North 
52J  degrees  East." 

As  indicating  the  simple  life  which  the  people  lived,  a  few 
items  may  be  gleaned  from  the  clerk's  records  and  the  treas- 
urer's book.  These  are  only  with  reference  to  the  prices 
of  labor  and  the  cheapness  of  the  staple  commodities.  In 
March,  1785,  Oliver  Ellis  was  paid  four  pounds  for  cutting 
and  carting  eleven  and  one-half  cords  of  wood  for  Mr. 
Thacher.  At  this  period,  nine  shillings  were  paid  for 
sweeping  the  meeting-house  for  one  year.  In  the  year  1800 
Newell  Ellis  received  ninety-nine  cents  for  cutting  and  de- 
livering one  cord  of  wood,  and  in  1801  Moses  Gay  had 
eleven  dollars  for  ten  cords.  During  the  first  decade  of  the 
present  century,  two  dollars  a  year  were  paid  for  sweeping 
the  meeting-house.  In  1808,  Thaddeus  Gay  labored  for 
three  and  one-half  days  at  the  new  meeting-house  "  blowing 
rock";  and  he  received  five  dollars  and  eighty-three  cents 
therefor.  Abner  Gay  was  paid  three  dollars  and  fifty  cents 
for  the  same  number  of  days'  labor  ''on  the  wall  round  the 
new  meeting-house."  In  1810,  eight  dollars  and  twenty- 
three  cents  were  paid  Moses  Kingsbury  for  ringing  the  bell 
and  taking  care  of  the  meeting-house.  On  the  inside  of  the 
front  cover  of  the  second  book  of  the  parish  records  is  posted 
a  schedule  of  prices  at  which  live  stock  were  valued  for  pur- 
poses of  taxation  during  the  earlier  part  of  the  century. 
These  were  as  follows  :  one  cow,  $17  ',  one  yoke  oxen,  $50  ; 
one  horse,  $35  ;  one  chaise,  $50  ;  one  swine,  $4. 

In  his  historical  sermon  of  1801,  Mr.  Thacher  gave  a  few 
statistics  which  are  of  interest.  In  1800,  the  number  of 
houses  was  eighty-one  and  the  population  four  hundred. 
From  1780  to  1800,  Mr.  Thacher  baptized  one  hundred  and 
forty-nine  persons,  four  of  them  adults.  The  deaths  were  one 
hundred  and  twenty-eight.  Fifty  persons  were  admitted  to 
the  church  ;  of  active  male  members,  nineteen.     In  1801,  the 


SETTLING    A    NEW    MINISTER  75 

whole  church  membership  was  seventy,  twenty-four  males 
and  forty-six  females.  Seventy  couples  were  married  during 
these  twenty  years. 

In  1 8 10,  June  7,  John  Richards  and  George  Ellis  were 
elected  deacons  by  the  church.  The  parish  clerks  were  as 
follows:  Deacon  George  Ellis,  1803  to  1806,  1808  to  181 1, 
1814  to  1816,  1818  to  1840;  Richard  Ellis,  in  1807  and  in 
1817;  Nathaniel  Whiting,  181 2  and  181 3.  Deacon  George 
Ellis  served  no  less  than  thirty-four  years  as  the  clerk  of  the 
parish. 


VII. 

THE  NEW  MEETING-HOUSE. 

The  meeting-house  erected  in  1731  had  now  been  in  use 
for  more  than  three-quarters  of  a  century,  and  was  fast  be- 
coming unfit  for  use  without  extensive  repairs.  At  the 
March  meeting  of  1804,  a  committee  was  appointed  ''to  ex- 
amine the  meeting-house  and  see  if  it  be  worth  repairing, 
and  to  estimate  the  expense  as  near  as  may  be,  and  see  if 
they  can  obtain  any  land  for  an  opening  round  the  meeting- 
house." In  the  spring  of  1805,  the  parish  was  surv^eyed 
for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  its  geographical  centre,  that 
being  regarded  as  the  best  place  for  locating  a  new  house. 
In  March,  1805,  the  report  of  the  committee  on  repairing 
the  old  house  was  rejected  ;  and  it  was  decided  not  to  repair 
the  old  house  and  not  to  build  a  new  one.  In  1806,  at  the 
March  meeting,  it  was  decided  to  build.  A  committee  of 
three  was  appointed  to  ascertain  the  centre  of  the  parish, 
and  a  committee  of  thirteen  to  decide  upon  the  most  suit- 
able place  for  locating  the  meeting-house.  At  the  adjourned 
meeting  of  March  24,  the  report  of  the  committee,  that  the 
new  house  be  built  on  Deacon  Ellis's  land,  was  accepted. 
The  committee  on  surveying  the  parish  was,  however, 
directed  "  to  take  the  mileage  of  every  family  to  the  meeting- 
house, and  also  to  the  hearse-house ;  and  to  take  an  account 
of  each  persons  taxes  to  the  nighest  of  the  two  mentioned 
houses."  A  meeting  in  April  annulled  the  vote  in  favor  of 
Deacon  Ellis's  land  ;  and  it  was  determined  to  hold  another 
meeting  of  the  parish,  "  to  see  if  the  parish  will  build  a  new- 
meeting-house,  repair  the  old  one,  grant  money  to  defray 
the  expenses  or  otherwise  determine  as  they  may  judge 
expedient."  Once  more  the  parish  assembled,  and  this  time 
concluded    it    was    best    "  to    build    a    meeting-house    on  or 


THE    NEW    MEETING-HOUSE 


71 


within  three  rods  of  the  rock  in  Deacon  Ichabod  Ellis's 
land."  Adjourning  to  September  8,  a  committee  was  then 
chosen  to  bring  before  the  parish  a  plan  for  a  new  house, 
and  to  ascertain  on  what  terms  the  land  voted  for  could  be 


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MAP    MADE    IN    1807. 


obtained.  Reassembling  September  29,  the  committee 
reported  a  plan  for  a  house,  and  that  land  could  be  obtained 
of  Deacon  Ellis  free  of  expense.  It  was  voted,  however,  to 
reconsider  the  action  in  favor  of  Deacon  Ellis's  land,  and 
'*to  build  a  meeting-house  at  the  centre  stake  or  within 
twenty-five  rods  of  the  centre,"  Notwithstanding  this  vote, 
a  committee  was  appointed  ''to  view  the  ground  and  find 
the  most  suitable  place  for  a  meeting-house,"     In  October, 


y^  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

the  vote  locating  at  the  centre  was  reconsidered ;  and  it  was 
"resolved  that  each  voter  in  parish  affairs  express  which 
of  the  five  places  he  prefers  for  first,  second  and  third  spot 
for  a  meeting-house,  viz :  where  the  meeting-house  now 
stands,  the  rock,  the  stake,  and  Fox  Hill  or  the  church 
land."  The  rock  was  Deacon  Ellis's  land,  the  stake  was  the 
centre  of  the  parish,  and  was  near  the  burying-ground,  and 
the  church  land  was  probably  south  of  the  old  meeting- 
house toward  Pond  Plain.  At  the  March  meeting  of  1807, 
these  places  were  voted  on,  with  the  following  result :  — 

At  a  meeting  of  the  third  parish  in  Dedham,  on  a  motion  to  take 
the  sense  of  the  parish  respecting  a  spot  to  set  a  meeting-house,  26 
appeared  in  favor  of  Deacon  Ellis's  rock  or  within  ten  rods  of  the  rock, 
and  23  against  it.  On  a  further  motion  to  set  a  meeting-house  on  Mr. 
Jotham  Richards'  land,  where  it  was  formerly  staked  out  for  that  pur- 
pose, 23  appeared  in  favor  of  the  spot  and  33  against  it.  Again  moved 
to  see  which  spot  they  preferred,  and  30  appeared  in  favor  of  Deacon 
Ellis's  rock  and  22  for  Mr.  Richards'  land.  It  was  then  moved  to  set  a 
meeting  house  on  Deacon  Ellis's  land  on  the  westerly  side  of  Onion's 
brook  near  the  road;  9  appeared  in  favor  and  39  against  it.  It  was  then 
tried  to  see  how  many  were  in  favor  of  Mr.  Frederick  Richards'  rock; 
4  appeared  in  favor  of  it.  It  was  then  tried  for  the  parish  rock,  and  10 
appeared  in  favor  and  35  against  it. 

These  votes  indicated  very  clearly  that  the  majority  of 
the  legal  members  of  the  parish  were  in  favor  of  Deacon 
Ellis's  land ;  but  the  minority  were  determined  not  to  accept 
that  location.  Accordingly,  it  was  voted  that,  "  whereas 
the  parish  have  uniformly  voted  to  build  a  decent  house 
for  public  worship  (if  they  could  agree  on  a  spot  to  set 
the  house  on),  but  upon  repeated  trials  they  have  been  so 
unhappy  as  not  to  think  alike  respecting  the  most  suit- 
able place,"  therefore  it  would  be  better  to  leave  the  deter- 
mination of  the  location  to  disinterested  persons.  Elijah 
Brigham  of  Westboro,  John  How  of  Dorchester,  and  John 
Ellis  of  Medway  were  invited  to  act  as  a  committee  for  the 
final  adjustment  of  the  dispute.  The  parish  voted  ''that 
the  committee  or  major  part  of  them  agreeing  on  a  spot,  it 
shall  be  decisive."  This  committee  was  asked  to  take  ''the 
roads,  houses  and   all  other  local  circumstances  into  view, 


THE    NKW    MEETING-HOUSE  79 

and  to  establish  the  rock  or  within  ten  rods  of  the  rock  in 
Deacon  Ellis's  land  or  the  hill  in  Mr.  Jotham  Richards'  land, 
which  shall  be  the  proper  place  for  the  house  to  stand  on, 
and  that  to  be  considered  by  the  parish  as  the  only  place." 
This  committee  met  on  the  28th  of  April,  at  the  tavern 
of  Capt.  Abner  Ellis,  and  proceeded,  according  to  their 
report,  ''to  view  the  dimensions,  the  several  houses  and 
roads  of  said  parish,  and  the  local  and  relative  situation  of 
the  inhabitants  to  each  other,  and  particularly  their  relative 
situation  to  the  two  proposed  places  for  erecting  a  new  meet- 
ing-house ;  and,  after  hearing  the  several  representations 
and  statements  urged  for  and  against  the  two  proposed 
places,  and  duly  considering  the  various  circumstances,  the 
interest  and  the  right  of  the  individuals  who  compose  the 
parish,  did  unanimously  agree  and  determine,  that  the  rock 
so-called  or  within  ten  rods  of  the  rock,  in  Deacon  Ellis's 
land,  near  the  old  meeting-house,  be  the  place  for  the  third 
parish  to  erect  their  proposed  new  meeting-house." 

The  parish  assembled  May  25,  and  voted  "to  set  the 
meeting-house  on  Deacon  Elhs's  rock."  June  22,  it  adopted 
a  plan  for  the  new  house,  selected  a  committee  to  ask  the 
town  to  lay  out  a  road  from  the  burying-ground  to  the  new 
meeting-house  site,  and  voted  to  raise  three  thousand  dol- 
lars, to  be  assessed  on  the  polls  and  estates  of  the  parish, 
towards  building  a  new  meeting-house.  Thirty-four  favored 
raising  this  sum  of  money,  and  twenty-seven  opposed  it, 
A  committee,  consisting  of  Ebenezer  Fisher,  Willard  Gay, 
Capt.  Benjamin  Fairbanks,  George  Ellis,  Capt.  Jeremiah 
Baker,  John  Baker,  and  Capt.  Abner  Ellis,  was  chosen  by 
ballot  "to  superintend  the  building  a  new  meeting-house 
under  the  direction  of  the  parish."  The  road  asked  for  was 
granted  by  the  town,  and  Nahatan  Street  was  laid  out  and 
built  in   1807. 

The  site  selected  for  the  meeting-house  was  one  of  much 
beauty.  The  rock  in  Deacon  Ellis's  land  was  the  highest 
point  on  Nahatan  Hill,  and  it  commanded  a  wide  prospect  to 
the  east  and  south.  To  the  east.  Blue  Hill  was  full  in  view, 
and   Boston  harbor  could  be   seen  on  clear  days.     To  the 


80  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

south-east  lay  Canton,  to  the  south  the  second  parish,  and 
beyond  it  Sharon.  The  high  lands  of  Walpole  could  be 
seen  a  little  to  the  westward,  and  still  farther  in  the  same 
direction  the  hills  which  lay  towards  Medfield  and  Dover. 
From  the  door  of  the  meeting-house,  a  wide  extending  and 
beautiful  prospect  stretched  out  before  the  beholder.  Hills, 
forests,  and  villages  made  up  a  scene  of  quiet  loveliness  that 
must  have  charmed  all  who  looked  upon  it.  Those  who 
desired  to  have  their  house  of  worship  located  on  this  spot 
may  not  have  been  influenced  by  aesthetic  considerations, 
but  they  could  not  have  failed  to  take  delight  in  the  fair 
scene  it  presented  as  they  came  up  to  the  Lord's  house. 

The  work  of  building  at  once  began.  It  was  at  first  pro- 
posed that  Eliphalet  Baker  should  build  the  new  house,  and 
he  was  afterwards  paid  fifteen  dollars  for  his  loss  in  relin- 
quishing the  task.  The  builder  finally  selected  was  Capt. 
Benjamin  Robbins,  who  was    not  a  resident  of  the  parish. 

Those  who  did  not  favor  the  site  chosen  did  not  become 
reconciled,  as  the  work  of  building  the  new  house  went  on. 
The  feeling  which  had  been  aroused  was  too  strong  and 
bitter  to  be  easily  allayed  ;  and  in  October  it  took  the  form 
of  a  protest  to  the  parish  committee,  which  was  worded  as 
follows  :  — 

To  the  Committee  of  the  Third  Parish  in  Dedham: 

Gentlemen  : 

We,  the  subscribers,  inhabitants  of  said  parish,  request 
that  you  would  not  proceed  to  assess  the  three  thousand  dollars  agreed 
upon  for  building  a  meeting-house  by  a  small  majority  of  the  parish 
collected  together  in  June  last,  and  state  the  following  reasons  and  ob- 
jecdons  against  the  assessing  thereof: 

First.  When  so  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  said  parish  have  so 
strong  objections  to  assessing  said  tax,  and  proceedings  has  a  great  ten- 
dency to  dismember  the  parish,  and  will  weaken  the  parish  so  that  it  will 
be  in  danger  of  crumbling  to  pieces. 

Secondly.  We  consider  the  meeting  illegal  and  without  law,  which 
will  naturally  bring  on  many  vexatious  suits,  which  will,  of  course,  bring 
on  hate  and  hating  one  another  and  evil  surmises,  which  weakens  society 
and  that  peace  and  love  which  the  preached  gospel  is  intended  to  in- 
culcate. 

Thirdly.  We  consider  that  there  is  no  collector  chosen,  nor  that  the 
committee  have  any  power  to  commit  the  tax  (if  assessed)  to  any  person 
whomsoever. 


THE    NEW    MEETING-HOUSE 


8i 


To  this  protest  the  names  of  forty-four  members  of  the 
parish  were  signed.  As  the  parish  collected  the  tax  and 
went  on  with  the  building  of  the  new  house,  the  protestants 
carried  the  question  of  the  legality  of  the  tax  to  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  State,  where  it  was  decided  that  it  had  been 
made  in  an  illegal  manner. 

At  the  March  meeting  of  1808,  the  treasurer  of  the  par- 
ish was  empowered  to  borrow  one  thousand  dollars  (if  neces- 


THE    MEETI 


NG-HOLTSE    BUILT    IN    l8o8. 


sary)  for  the  purpose  of  finishing  the  new  meeting-house. 
A  protest,  signed  by  twenty-two  persons,  was  made  against 
the  action  of  this  meeting,  ^'because  the  parish  has  pro- 
ceeded to  make  a  list  of  voters  on  the  single  rate  made  by 
the  assessor  and  committed  to  a  constable,  without  any  legal 
authority  by  law  so  to  do,  and  because  the  assessors  have 
not  been  sworn  agreeable  to  law  ;  by  which  reasons  many  of 
the  inhabitants  are  deprived  of  their  privileges."  At  an 
April  meeting,  a  request  was  presented  by  Timothy  Baker 
and  others  "to  see  if  the  parish  will  build   their  meeting- 


82  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

house  westerly  of  the  hoop-pole  rock  (so  called)  not  exceed- 
ing forty  rods."  Various  changes  in  the  plans  of  the 
house  were  discussed  and  accepted.  Following  the  records 
of  this  meeting,  the  clerk  inserted  this  note  :  — 

July  25th,  1808. —  At  the  rising  of  the  sun  the  people  assembled  to 
raise  the  new  meeting-house,  and  after  attending  prayers,  the  raising 
was  begun  and  finished  on  the  following  day. 

On  the  26th  of  December,  the  parish  voted  a  farther  tax 
of  two  thousand  dollars,  for  the  purpose  of  completing  the 
new  house,  probably  not  much  more  than  one-half  of  the 
first  tax  of  three  thousand  dollars  having  been  collected. 
At  this  meeting,  the  parish  also 

Voted,  that  a  committee  of  nine  be  chosen  to  offer  in  behalf  of  the 
parish,  to  such  as  appear  dissatisfied  with  building  the  new  meeting- 
house, to  leave  all  disputes  to  disinterested  men,  with  full  power  to  agree 
on  the  men  and  appear  before  them  in  behalf  of  the  parish.  Messrs. 
Willard  Gay,  Deacon  Ichabod  Ellis,  Capt.  Jeremiah  Baker,  Richard 
Ellis,  Joseph  Draper,  George  Ellis,  John  Baker,  Jotham  Richards  and 
Samuel  French  were  chosen  for  said  committee. 

The  parish  records  give  no  evidence  that  this  committee 
was  in  any  degree  successful  in  accomplishing  the  objects 
for  which  it  was  appointed.  Those  opposed  to  the  new 
house  had  already  begun  to  attend  the  Baptist  meetings  in 
Medfield ;  and  they  were  not  inclined  to  accept  any  compro- 
mise at  so  late  a  date. 

The  house  built  was  forty-seven  feet  square,  and  was 
planned  to  contain  fifty-three  pews  on  the  lower  floor.  Gal- 
leries were  built  on  three  sides,  box-pews  were  adopted,  and 
the  pulpit  was  very  high.  On  the  ist  of  March,  i8og,  the 
new  house  was  ready  for  dedication. 

Mr.  Thacher  preached  the  last  sermon  in  the  old  meeting- 
house;  and  on  the  following  Sunday,  March  i,  the  new  house 
was  dedicated.  In  the  sermon  on  leaving  the  old  house,  he 
complained  of  the  great  changes  which  had  taken  place  in 
society  since  it  was  erected,  which  had  corrupted  the  moral- 
ity and  the  simple  habits  of  the  people.  "  Fastidious  orna- 
ments," he  said,  "have  taken  the  place  of  simplicity  in  dress. 


THE    NEW    MEETING-IIOUSE  83 

language,  and  the  common  intercourse  of  life.  Delicacy  is 
substituted  for  chastity,  party  zeal  for  the  fervor  and  fidel- 
ity of  private  friendship,  a  pompous  display  of  verbose  elo- 
quence for  the  essentials  of  a  good  education  and  of  classic 
literature.  It  will  not  be  denied  that  wc  have  progressed  in 
the  fine,  and  in  many  of  the  useful  arts,  in  a  manner  suitable 
to  the  increased  opulence  and  population  of  the  country  ; 
but  yet  a  profusion  of  multiplied  luxuries  proves  our  artifi- 
cial wants  and  our  effeminate  habits.  In  a  word,  we  cannot 
examine  any  part  of  private  life  without  discovering  as  great 
an  alteration  in  our  sentiments  and  customs  as  in  our  public 
edifices  and  private  houses.  Few  traits  are  seen  in  these 
either  of  primitive  simplicity  or  the  manly  virtues.'/ 

In  this  judgment,  undoubtedly  Mr.  Thacher  was  quite  too 
severe  on  the  men  and  women  of  his  own  time  ;  and  what 
he  took  for  corruption  was  in  reality  a  healthy  growth. 
Many  look  back  on  his  time  as  better  than  ours,  just  as  he 
thought  the  time  of  the  first  settlers  better  than  that  in 
which  he  lived.  Some  of  his  parishioners  complained  that 
he  was  not  as  the  old-fashioned  ministers  were,  and  we 
often  hear  precisely  the  same  complaint  made  to-day.  The 
fact  is,  that  each  generation  has  its  own  character  ;  and  the 
part  of  wisdom  is  to  believe  in  the  present,  to  look  forward 
to  the  future  and  not  to  look  back  to  the  past. 

Of  the  first  settlers  of  the  parish  Mr.  Thacher  said  :  — 

This  house  has  stood  for  seventy-eight  years.  Not  a  head  which 
planned,  nor  hand  employed  in  building  it,  but  what  has  long  been 
mouldering  in  the  dust.  Very  few  either  in  the  parish  or  town  now  sur- 
vive who  then  existed,  nor  is  there  a  single  person  now  living  who  was 
then  the  head  of  a  family.  Of  those  \vho  signed  the  first  church  cove- 
nant, one  only  was  alive  after  my  settlement  in  this  place.  The  same 
has  been  dead  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Since  the  above 
mentioned  period,  what  numbers  in  this  inconsiderable  hamlet  have  been 
born,  formed  connections  and  expired.  Families  then  the  most  flourish- 
ing and  prosperous  in  this  parish  were  long  since  blasted  with  misery 
and  depression.  And  though  this  place  be  more  stationary  than  any 
within  my  knowledge,  as  to  sameness  of  names  and  families,  houses  and 
inclosures,  yet  were  the  first  settlers  to  rise  from  the  grave  they  scarcely 
could  trace  out  their  former  residence  and  situation. 


84  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

He  also  said  a  very  kind  and  generous  word  concerning 
those  who  had  dissevered  their  connection  with  the  parish 
organization  :  — 

Respecting  our  brethren  who  have  dissented  from  us  in  the  location 
of  our  new  place  of  worship,  our  heart's  desire  and  prayer  to  God  is, 
that  between  us  and  them  there  may  be,  on  terms  equally  honorable  and 
advantageous,  a  cordial  and  radical  conciliation.  I  trust  and  hope  that 
all  of  us  who  assemble  together  will  be  ready  to  make  any  reasonable 
sacrifice  for  attaining  so  valuable  an  object.  Let  all  bitterness  and 
wrath  and  severe  censures  cease  from  among  us.  Let  us  be  clothed 
with  charity,  as  with  a  garment.  We  remember  with  affection  many 
habits  of  intimacy  and  friendship  which  we  have  enjoyed  with  many  of 
them;  we  admit  many  good  qualities  they  possess,  and  the  kind  offices 
by  some  of  them  expressed.  If  we  should  be  so  unhappy  as  not  to 
accomplish  our  desire  of  christian  re-union  and  association,  still  let  us 
be  ready  on  our  part  to  express  on  all  occasions  the  courtesies  of  life, 
that  interchange  of  kindness,  good  neighborhood  and  friendship  due 
from  all  citizens  to  each  other,  however  discordant  their  local  views 
and  their  religious  opinions. 

At  the  dedication  of  the  new  meeting-house,  Mr.  Thacher 
preached  the  sermon,  which  was  devoted  to  a  careful  consid- 
eration of  the  reasons  why  public  worship  should  be  main- 
tained ;  while  the  introductory  prayer  was  made  by  the  Rev. 
Jabez  Chickering  of  the  south  parish,  and  the  concluding 
prayer  by  the  Rev.  Joshua  Bates  of  the  first  parish.  ''Two 
anthems  adapted  to  the  occasion,"  we  are  told  by  the  local 
newspaper,  "  were  performed  with  much  taste  and  excellence 
by  a  large  choir  of  musicians,  both  vocal  and  instrumental, 
and  soothed  and  exhilerated  with  tones  of  sweet  harmony,  a 
numerous  and  respectable  auditory." 

The  total  cost  of  the  new  meeting-house  seems  to  have 
been  about  five  thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  The  land  on 
which  it  was  located  was  given,  free  of  any  reservations  or 
conditions,  by  Deacon  Ichabod  Ellis  (three-quarters  of  an 
acre)  and  by  his  son  Newell  Ellis  (one-quarter  of  an  acre). 
Six  persons  subscribed  towards  providing  the  house  with  a 
bell  ;  but  their  action  was  anticipated  by  the  gift  of  a  bell 
from  the  Hon.  Joshua  Fisher,  of  Beverly.  The  cost  of  dec- 
orating the  pulpit,  nearly  seventy  dollars,  was  met  by  the 


TIIF.    NEW    MEETING-HOUSE  85 

women  of  the  parish.  The  materials  used  for  this  purpose 
and  in  making  the  cushion,  according  to  the  bill  now  among 
the  parish  papers,  consisted  of  five  yards  moreen,  eleven 
yards  fringe,  ten  yards  lace,  one  tassel,  three  yards  crimson 
damask,  four  yards  crimson  silk  fringe,  seventeen  yards 
crimson  silk  lace,  three  and  one-half  pounds  feathers,  one 
and  one-fourth  yards  tick,  and  four  silk  tassels.  *'  I  feel 
myself  authorized  to  declare,"  said  Mr.  Thacher,  in  publish- 
ing his  two  sermons,  "that  the  politeness,  christian  affec- 
tion and  sympathy  expressed  by  the  other  societies  in  the 
town  towards  us  in  our  present  difficulties  has  excited  the 
warmest  gratitude  in  the  minds  of  all  who  assemble  with  us 
in  public  worship." 

A  committee  was  chosen  to  sell  the  old  meeting-house, 
which  was  bought  by  Aaron  Baker.  It  was  subsequently 
taken  to  pieces,  moved  to  High  Street,  and  there  rebuilt  and 
used  for  public  worship  by  those  who  had  withdrawn  from 
the  parish.  As  rebuilt,  it  was  smaller,  but  almost  exactly 
like  the  new  house  in  its  interior  arrangement  and  exterior 
construction. 

The  spirit  of  reconciliation  expressed  itself  in  October  by 
a  committee  of  seven,  chosen  "  to  confer  with  the  west  side 
of  the  parish  respecting  a  settlement  with  regard  to  the 
meeting-house "  ;  and  the  committee  was  instructed  '*  to 
offer  them  reasonable  pay  for  the  expense  they  have  been 
at  in  erecting  the  old  meeting-house,  on  condition  that  they 
return  and  remain  with  the  parish." 

In  the  spring  of  1809,  Mr.  Thacher,  in  a  communication 
to  the  parish  meeting,  relinquished  seventy-five  dollars  of 
his  salary  for  the  previous  year,  to  be  devoted  to  the  ex- 
penses of  the  new  house.  He  expressed  a  wish  to  share 
that  expense  with  his  neighbors,  and  he  said  the  sum  given 
was  more  by  fifteen  dollars  than  his  share  of  the  tax.  He 
also  denied  the  report  that  he  had  been  influential  in  secur- 
ing the  location  of  the  house  on  the  land  of  Deacon  Ellis. 
"1  think  justice  to  myself,"  he  wrote,  ''requires  me  to  say, 
that  I  never  directly  or  mediately  solicited  or  influenced  any 
man  to  vote  for  setting  it  on  the  rock." 


S6  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

In  the  autumn  of  1809,  horse-sheds  were  built  containing 
twenty  stalls.  Stoves  were  probably  put  into  the  new  meet- 
ing-house soon  after  it  was  built,  but  the  first  mention  of 
them  in  the  records  was  in  18 18.  The  meeting-house  had 
no  carpets  at  this  period;  for,  in  1816,  Darling  Trask  was 
paid  sixty-two  and  one-half  cents  "for  sanding  the  meeting- 
house floor." 

Those  who  had  withdrawn  from  the  parish  not  only  pro- 
ceeded to  erect  a  house  of  their  own,  and  to  connect  them- 
selves with  the  Baptist  society  in  Medfield,  but  they  took 
active  measures  against  being  taxed  to  support  the  parish 
within  the  territorial  limits  of  which  they  lived.  The  law 
required  the  taxation  of  every  resident  of  a  parish  for  the 
support  of  public  worship  within  that  parish,  unless  he  could 
show  evidence  that  he  was  a  regular  attendant  upon  some 
other  religious  services.  Accordingly,  the  following  notice 
was  served  upon  the  parish  committee  :  — 

We,  the  subscribers,  John  Perkins,  public  teacher  of  a  society  of 
Baptists  in  Medfield,  Ebenezer  Clark  and  Eleazer  Perry,  having  been 
chosen  a  special  committee  of  said  society  to  certify  who  are  the  mem- 
bers thereof,  and  who  do  usually  and  frequently,  when  able,  attend  with 
us  in  our  meetings  for  religious  worship,  do  certify  that  Phinehas  Col- 
burn,  Benjamin  Colburn,  Andrew  Lewis,  Jonathan  Colburn,  David 
Baker,  Abijah  Colburn,  Benjamin  French,  Jun.,  George  Colburn,  Joseph 
Ellis  2nd,  James  Pettee,  Joel  Everett,  Thacher  Colburn,  Ichabod  Col- 
burn, Abraham  Sanderson,  Smith  Emerson,  Isaac  Colburn  Jun,  Benja- 
min French,  Eliphalet  Baker,  Joseph  Draper,  Samuel  Pettee,  Enoch 
Kingsbury,  Eliphalet  Colburn,  Obed  Baker,  Daniel  Draper,  Aaron 
Baker  and  Joseph  Baker  belong  to  said  society,  and  that  they  usually 
and  frequently,  when  able,  attend  with  us  in  our  meetings  for  religious 
worship. 

Signed,'  John  Perkins, 

Ebenezer  Clark, 
Eleazer  Perry. 
Medfield,  July  ist,  1809. 

A  similar  notice  certified  that  Isaac  Smith,  Abijah  Smith, 
John  Ellis,  Jr.,  and  Abijah  Fisher,  residents  of  Walpole,  but 
included  for  many  years  in  the  Clapboard  Trees  parish,  also 
attended  the  Baptist  meetings  in  Medfield.  In  order  to 
make   sure   of   not    being  taxed,  most   of    the  above-named 


THE    NEW    MEETING-HOUSE  8/ 

persons  in  October  sent  a  notice  to  the  assessors  saying  that 
it  would  be  of  no  use  to  assess  them.  They  also  said,  '*  We 
neither  expect  you  to  help  us  pay  for  building  our  meeting 
house  nor  support  our  public  teacher  ;  neither  do  we  intend 
to  assist  you  in  building  and  supporting  yours."  In  July, 
1810,  the  parish  took  the  following  action  with  reference  to 
these  notices  :  — 

Voted,  that  the  assessors  that  were  chosen  in  March  last  be  directed 
to  omit  in  their  assessment  all  such  persons  belonging  to  the  parish  as 
they  shall  judge  do  not  consider  themselves  belonging  with  our  society. 

In  181 1,  June  ii,  the  Baptist  society  of  Dedham  and 
Medfield  was  incorporated  by  the  General  Court.  A  com- 
mittee from  the  General  Court  visited  the  parish,  and  a 
committee  from  the  parish  waited  upon  it ;  but  nothing 
could  be  done  to  prevent  a  final  separation  of  the  two  so- 
cieties. Why  there  should  have  been  a  division  of  the  par- 
ish it  is  now  difficult  to  understand.  The  first  cause  of  a 
difference  of  opinion  was  with  reference  to  building  a  new 
house.  A  considerable  number,  including  Mr.  Thacher, 
thought  it  better  to  repair  the  old  house.  When  it  was 
decided  to  build,  the  question  of  locality  was  an  immediate 
cause  of  trouble.  The  longer  it  was  discussed,  the  greater 
became  the  differences  of  opinion,  and  the  more  bitter  the 
feelings  engendered.  The  determination  of  the  majority  to 
adhere  to  the  spot  chosen,  and  the  making  of  the  first  tax 
for  building  the  new  house  in  an  illegal  manner,  added  fuel 
to  the  flame.  The  whole  trouble,  in  a  word,  was  between 
the  inhabitants  of  the  eastern  and  the  western  parts  of  the 
parish,  as  to  which  should  have  the  house  in  their  own  local- 
ity. This  is  plainly  indicated  by  the  fact  that,  of  the  forty- 
four  persons  signing  the  protest  of  1807,  thirty-three  lived  in 
the  western  part  of  the  parish.  At  this  time,  the  roads  were 
so  located  that  either  party  would  have  been  better  accom- 
modated by  the  locality  it  preferred.  Had  Nahatan  Street 
existed  when  it  was  first  proposed  to  build,  it  is  possible 
that    the    causes    of   division    would    have    been    prevented. 

Still  another  cause  of  the  failure  of  all  efforts  at  reconcili- 


88  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

ation  was  the  fact  that  the  parish  officers  attempted  to  en- 
force by  the  power  of  the  law  the  collection  of  the  taxes 
assessed.  Those  not  paying  were  carried  to  jail,  and  the 
feeling  of  enmity  was  deepened  thereby.  Tradition  has  it 
that  one  man  who  was  arrested  lay  down  on  the  ground, 
and  had  to  be  loaded  into  a  wagon  in  order  to  his  removal 
to  the  jail.  Another  was  opportunely  engaged  in  shingling 
his  barn  at  this  time ;  and,  whenever  the  constable  appeared 
for  his  arrest,  he  was  very  busily  employed  on  the  topmost 
part  of  the  roof.  When  the  constable  informed  him  of  the 
errand  on  which  he  had  come,  the  delinquent  replied  that 
the  officer  was  at  liberty  to  take  him  where  he  was.  On 
several  occasions,  the  constable  found  it  prudent  to  give  up 
his  task.*  The  majority  of  the  parish  undoubtedly  pre- 
ferred the  locality  chosen,  but  more  of  the  spirit  of  compro- 
mise on  their  part  would  have  prevented  a  division  of  the 
parish. 

When  those  who  had  become  members  of  the  Baptist 
church  in  Medfield  were  dismissed  in  1824  to  form  the 
"First  Baptist  Church  in  Dedham,"  an  account  was  given, 
on  the  first  pages  of  the  church  book  of  the  new  church,  of 
the  causes  which  led  to  the  division  of  the  Clapboard  Trees 
parish.  The  writer  was  perhaps  the  Rev.  Samuel  Adlam, 
the  first  pastor  of  the  Baptist  society.  He  wrote  of  the  sep- 
aration as  a  remarkable  instance  of  the  workings  of  Provi- 
dence in  bringing  men  to  a  knowledge  of  evangelical  truth, 
when  they  did  not  desire  it.  The  historical  part  of  this  doc- 
ument is  here  reproduced,  for  the  sake  of  the  light  it  throws 
on  the  causes  of  the  separation.  It  too  strongly  empha- 
sizes the  lack  of  evangelical  preaching  in  the  parish,  for  Mr. 
Thacher  was  by  no  means  wanting  in  piety  and  religious 
devotion.  Those  seceding  from  the  parish  joined  the  Bap- 
tists because  they  were  not  strong  enough  to  support  a 
preacher  among  themselves,  because  they  could  not  be 
formed  into  a  distinct  Congregational  parish,  and  because 
the  Baptist  society  at  Medfield  afforded  them  the  only  oppor- 

*  Another  of  the  Seceders,  who  finally  returned  to  the  old  parish,  said  that  he  remained  with 
the  Baptists  "  as  long  as  he  could  keep  up  the  mad." 


THE    NEW    MEETING-IIOUSE  oQ 

tunity    within    reach    for    connecting    themselves    with    any 
other  religious  body. 

The  origin  of  the  Baptist  church  in  Dedham  strikingly  illustrates  the 
provide nce\nd  sovereignty  of  God,  showing  how  easy  it  is  for  him  to 
place  his  throne  in  the  midst  of  his  foes,  and  how  he  lays  hold  of  the 
actions  of  men,  without  their  intention  or  suspicion,  to  promote  his  gos- 
pel in  the  world.  The  West  parish  had  for  a  long  series  of  years  heard 
nothing  except  it  were  Arminian  or  Socinian  preaching;  and  so  firmly 
was  it  established  that  there  is  no  instance  known  of  its  truth  being 
doubted,  except  by  some  who  verged  nearer  to  infidelity  than  anything 
else.  .  .  .  The  parish  was  what  would  by  some  be  called  moral;  that  is, 
some  attended  the  meeting  house  constantly,  others  occasionally,  and 
others  very  seldom.  Theft,  drunkenness  and  swearing,  except  the  lat- 
ter, was  not  common;  but  then,  no  one  thought  religion  should  occupy 
too  much  of  their  thoughts,  and  balls  and  cards  were  thought  innocent 
for  church  members. 

In  this  state,  with  the  usual  variation  of  character  found  in  large  par- 
ishes they  continued  perfectly  united,  and  strongly  opposed  to  anything 
like  evangelical  doctrine.  But  in  the  year  1807  it  was  contemplated  to 
erect  a  new  meeting  house,  when  disputes  arose  concerning  the  spot  of 
its  location.  The  parish  was  divided,  one  party  contending  for  one  spot, 
and  the  other  for  another.  Meeting  after  meeting  was  held,  but  no  ad- 
justment could  be  made.  Disputes,  animosities  and  determined  oppo- 
sition succeeded,  when  one  party  gaining  by  an  inconsiderable  majority 
the  victory,  the  other  felt  insulted  in  such  a  manner  that  they  knew  not 
how  to  brook  it.  Retaining  their  feelings,  but  concealing  their  inten- 
tion they  determined  to  erect  themselves  into  a  separate  society;  and 
accordingly,  when  the  old  meeting-house  was  sold,  as  was  expected,  for 
a  barn  or  some  other  unimportant  purpose,  a  committee  was  secretly  in- 
structed to  purchase  it.  This  event  quickened  the  feelings  which  it  was 
hoped  some  months  had  allayed;  each  one  declared  himself  for  one 
party  or  the  other,  and  opposition,  triumph  and  revenge  actuated  both. 

Two  distinct  parties  now  were  established,  though  no  variation  of 
feeling  or  judgment  upon  any  religious  subject  existed.  The  offended 
party  held  a  number  of  meetings  to  consult  what  denomination  they 
should  call  themselves,  when  it  was  decided  they  should  unite  them- 
selves with  the  Baptist  society  in  Medfield Not  one  of  them  was  con- 
verted, not  one  was  friendly  to  evangelical  truth,  not  one  but  despised 
and  hated  the  sentiments  of  the  Baptists;  and  yet  these  men  solicited 
union  with  a  society  poor  and  despised  holding  these  sentiments.  .  .  . 

When  a  union  was  effected  with  Medfield,  part  of  the  society  went 
regularly  to  that  place  upon  the  Sabbath  day;  but  their  new  doctrine 

gave  great  offense  to  some Then  could  they  have  repented^  of  their 

choice  had  not  persecution,  by  taking  their  property  and  lodging  their 


QO  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

persons  in  prison  for  ministerial  taxes,  made  them  determined  to  submit 
to  anything  I'ather  than  reunite  with  those  who  endeavored  to  oppress 
them  in  the  extreme. 

In  i8i  I,  those  who  remained  members  of  the  Clapboard 
Trees  parish  contributed  to  a  fund  for  the  support  of  preach- 
ing-. The  contributions  rano-ed  from  ten  to  one  hundred 
dollars,  and  the  contributors  numbered  about  forty-five  per- 
sons. The  following  are  their  names  and  the  sums  con- 
tributed, as  given  in  the  first  report  of  the  trustees  of  the 
fund  thus  created  :  — 

Rev.  Thomas  Thacher, .  $100.00 

John  Fisher, 100.00 

Willard  Gay 100.00 

John  Baker,       50.00 

George  Ellis, 50.00 

Benjamin  Fisher,  '. 77  00 

Benjamin  Boyden, 35-oo 

Samuel  French, 25.00 

Lemuel  Thwing, 25.00 

Eaton  Whiting, 1666 

Jesse  Warren, 25.00 

John  Richards,  Jr., 100.00 

Jotham  Richards,       25.00 

Jotham  Richards,  for  his  father,       ....  75-00 

Nathaniel  Whiting, 33-34 

Thaddeus  Gay, 16.66 

Moses  Kingsbury, 16.67 

Jeremiah  Baker, 100.00 

Phinehas  Ellis, 85.00 

Frederick  Richards, 35-oo 

Eliphalet  Rhodes,  Jr., 25.00 

Abijah  Parker, 16.66 

Robert  Steel, 25.00 

Jason  Ellis, 50.00 

David  Boyd, 16.66 

Edward  Glover, 1666 

Joel  Everett, 32.00 

Abel  Richards,  Jr., 16.66 

Moses  Gay, 33.33 

Hannah  Gay, 11.00 

Moses  Richards, 16.66 

John  Richards,       25.00 

Sarah  Richards, 25.00 

Oliver  Ellis, 75-oo 

Lemuel  Gay, 50.00 


THE    NKW    MEETING-HOUSE  gt 

William  Oay, $150.00 

Richard  Ellis, 25.00 

Royal  Ellis, 25.CO 

Willard  Ellis, 25.00 

Jabez  Ellis,  for  his  mother,  Rebecca  Ellis,   .  40.00 

Benjamin  Fairbanks, 75-00 

Benjamin  Fairbanks,  Jr., 60.00 

Daniel  Covell, 50.00 

Seth  Gay,  Jr., 10.00 

Lusher  Gay, 100.00 

The  whole  amount  thus  subscribed  was  ^2,084.96.  The 
first  trustees  of  this  ministerial  fund  were  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Thacher,  Willard  Gay,  George  Ellis,  and  John  Baker.  The 
fund  was  established  with  the  following  conditions  and 
regulations  :  — 

Dedham,  April  i8th,  181 1. 

We,  the  subscribers,  taking  into  view  the  importance  of  supporting 
the  public  worship  of  God  in  the  third  Parish  in  Dedham,  the  pressure 
on  individuals  among  us  in  performing  that  necessary  duty  by  reason  of 
the  secession  of  a  part  of  our  number  to  the  Baptists,  the  desire  we  feel 
to  perpetuate  a  Christian  Congregational  Church  according  to  the  mode 
in  which  it  has  ever  existed  among  us,  do  solemnly  agree  and  bind  our- 
selves to  pay  the  several  sums  affixed  to  our  names  to  the  treasurer  of 
the  said  third  Parish  in  Dedham,  for  the  purpose  of  supporting  the  Gos- 
pel and  its  ordinances ;  the  income  of  which  shall  be  annually  devoted 
to  pay  the  Minister;  and  the  raising  of  the  said  fund  shall  be  executed 
according  to  the  conditions  hereafter  mentioned,  and  subject  to  the  reg- 
ulations here  expressed : 

First ;  that  the  sum  subscribed  shall  be  placed  at  lawful  interest,  and 
the  interest  devoted  forever  for  the  annual  support  of  a  gospel  minister 
of  the  Congregational  denomination. 

Second ;  that  the  house  of  public  worship  shall  continue,  and  when 
necessary  a  new  one  to  be  built,  on  the  spot  where  the  present  house 
now  stands  or  within  fifty  rods  thereof. 

Thirdly  ;  any  subscriber  who  may  desire  it  shall  be  entitled  to  the 
loan  of  such  sum  of  money  as  he  may  subscribe,  by  giving  his  note 
therefor  to  the  parish  treasurer,  and  paying  the  interest  thereof  an- 
nually; but  if  such  subscriber  or  subscribers  shall  neglect  to  pay  the 
interest  on  such  note  for  the  space  of  thirty  days  after  it  falls  due,  they 
shall  thereupon  become  liable  to  pay  the  principle  on  demand,  and  it 
shall  be  the  duty  of  the  trustees  hereinafter  named  forthwith  to  compel 
payment  of  the  same. 

Fourthly ;  all  monies  paid  to  the  treasurer  of  said  parish  shall  be 
loaned  on  land  security ;  and  in  case  the  debtor  shall  neglect  to  pay  the 


92  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

interest  on  such  loan  for  the  space  of  thirty  days  after  it  falls  due,  it 
shall  be  the  duty  of  the  said  trustees  to  compel  payment  of  the  prin- 
cipal. 

Fifthly ;  the  settled  minister,  the  treasurer  and  parish  committee  of 
said  parish  shall  be  a  board  of  trustees  for  the  purpose  of  managing  said 
fund,  and  under  the  regulations  and  subject  to  the  conditions  herein 
contained  shall  have  the  entire  control  thereof ;  but  in  case  they  shall 
presume  to  appropriate  either  the  principal  or  the  annual  interest  to  any 
other  purpose  than  that  herein  before  mentioned  they  shall  be  jointly 
and  severally  answerable  to  the  parish  therefor  out  of  their  own  estates 
and  effects. 

Sixthly;  the  said  trustees  shall  at  the  annual  parish  meeting  lay  be- 
fore the  people  the  state  of  this  fund. 

Seventhly ;  in  case  the  parish  shall  be  destitute  of  a  settled  minister 
for  a  term  not  less  than  one  year  nor  more  than  six  years,  the  income  of 
this  fund  shall  be  reserved  by  the  trustees  for  the  use  of  the  next  set- 
tled minister,  and  put  out  to  interest  in  the  same  manner  as  the  prin- 
cipal is  till  a  minister  shall  be  settled  and  then  paid  over  to  him  in  such 
sums  and  in  such  manner  annually  as  the  trustees  see  fit  for  his  annual 
salary,  and  not  for  any  other  purpose. 

Eighthly;  in  case  there  shall  be  no  settled  minister  the  treasurer  and 
parish  committee  shall  be  the  sole  trustees  of  this  fund,  and  the  surviv- 
ors of  them  in  case  any  of  them  should  die  within  the  year  for  which 
they  are  chosen;  and  in  case  the  parish  should  neglect  to  choose  parish 
officers,  and  the  said  offices  should  be  vacant,  such  of  the  donors  or  their 
heirs  as  are  legal  voters  within  the  parish,  shall  be  authorized  to  appoint 
trustees  to  manage  said  fund  in  conjunction  with  the  minister,  if  at  such 
time  there  shall  be  a  settled  minister  in  the  parish,  if  otherwise  such 
trustees  shall  have  the  entire  control  thereof,  subject  to  the  conditions 
and  regulations  aforesaid. 

Ninthly  ;  in  case  the  parish  should  apply  the  said  fund  or  the  interest 
thereof  to  any  other  purpose  than  the  one  before  mentioned,  or  place  the 
house  of  worship  at  a  greater  distance  than  fifty  rods  from  where  it  now 
stands,  or  sha]l  be  destitute  of  a  settled  minister  for  the  space  of  six 
years  or  over,  then  the  whole  of  the  said  fund,  together  with  the  interest 
that  may  have  accrued  after  the  parish  ceased  to  have  a  settled  minister 
shall  be  forfeited,  and  the  said  parish  shall  be  liable  to  pay  to  the  said 
donors  or  their  heirs  in  a  right  descending  line,  who  may  then  be  inhabi- 
tants of  said  parish,  the  several  sums  by  them  or  by  their  ancestors  sub- 
scribed; and  in  case  any  one  of  the  said  subscribers  at  the  time  of  such 
forfeiture  shall  not  be  living  nor  have  any  such  heir  or  heirs  in  the  right 
descending  line  living  within  the  parish,  then  the  sum  or  sums  by  such 
donor  or  donors  subscribed,  shall  be  appropriated  as  a  fund  for  the  sup- 
port of  a  school  within  the  parish  and  the  interest  thereof  applied  for 
tliat  purpose  forever. 


THE    NEW    MEETING-HOUSE  93 

Tenthly;  the  proprietors,  should  the  majority  of  them  think  best, 
may  within  two  years  from  this  date,  viz.,  April,  eighteen  hundred  and 
eleven,  get  incorporated,  and  alter  the  management  of  their  property  in 
this  fund  in  its  circumstances  and  forms ;  but  the  essentials  of  it,  as 
comprised  in  its  application  and  design,  shall  not  be  altered. 


VIII. 

REV.    THOMAS    THACHER,    THE    THIRD    MINISTER. 

Thomas  Thacher  was  born  in  Boston,  Oct.  24,  1756. 
His  father  was  Oxenbridge  Thacher,  a  successful  and  well- 
known  lawyer  of  that  city,  who  was  for  many  years  a  mem- 
ber of  the  General  Court,  and  was  so  at  the  time  when 
the  Clapboard  Trees  parish  was  established.  The  Thacher 
family  had  long  been  a  prominent  one  in  Boston.  The 
great-grandfather  of  Thomas  was  the  Rev.  Thomas  Thacher, 
the  first  minister  of  the  Old  South  Church  in  Boston,  whose 
son,  Peter  Thacher,  was  the  first  minister  in  Milton.  He 
was  also  descended  from  John  Oxenbridge,  who  was  a  pastor 
of  the  first  church  in  Boston. 

When  Thomas  Thacher  was  nine  years  old,  his  father  died  ; 
and  he  found  a  home  with  his  grandfather,  "  who  was  a  man 
of  public  education  and  usefulness."  It  is  said  that  in  early 
life  "he  evinced  much  more  than  ordinary  force  of  intellect ; 
but  it  was  combined  with  an  imprudent,  reckless  spirit,  that 
gave  little  promise  of  either  respectability  or  usefulness." 
At  the  age  of  fifteen,  however,  he  entered  Harvard  College, 
and  was  a  successful  student,  graduating  in  1775- 

After  graduation,  he  spent  some  time  in  teaching;  and 
then  he  began  his  studies  in  preparation  for  the  ministry, 
which  he  seems  to  have  carried  on  under  the  guidance  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Cummings,  of  Billerica.  He  became  the  minister 
of  the  Clapboard  Trees  parish  at  the  age  of  twenty-four,  and 
under  conditions  favorable  to  his  success.  It  is  said  of  him, 
however,  in  Sprague's  Annals  of  the  Unitarian  Pulpit,  that 
''the  indiscretions  and  follies  of  his  youth  had  awakened 
strong  prejudices  against  him,  so  that  his  ministry  did  not 
begin  under  the  fairest  auspices."  If  he  had  such  a  reputa- 
tion as  is  thus  indicated,  it  was  doubtless  owing  to  his  love 


RKV.    THOMAS    TITACIII'.K,    THK    TIIIKI)    MINISTKK  95 

of  mirth  and  wit ;  but  lie  had  ah"eady  made  a  good  ini[n-cs- 
sion  in  other  churches  before  he  accepted  the  invitation  to 
Dedham. 

The  best  account  of  tlie  person  of  Mr.  Thacher  is  <^iven 
by  the  Rev.  Samuel  Osgood,  who  says  that  he  "  was  a  man 
of  a  portly  and  commanding  figure,  and  had  a  face  expressive 
of  much  more  tlian  common  intellectual  power.  His  man- 
ners were  sufficiently  free  and  cordial,  but  somewhat  blunt, 
and  indicative  of  what  he  really  possessed, —  great  indepen- 
dence of  character.  You  could  not  meet  him  in  the  most 
casual  interview  without  perceiving  that  he  had  not  the  fear 
of  man  before  his  eyes.  He  had  great  power  of  sarcasm  ; 
and  he  indulged  it  sometimes,  perhaps,  without  the  most  deli- 
cate regard  to  circumstances.  But  there  was  a  manifest 
openness  and  honesty  of  purpose  that  all  recognized  as  a 
redeeming  feature,  and  as  rendering  less  objectionable  that 
unceremonious  bluntness,  and  e^^en  severity,  w^hich  could 
hardly  fail  sometimes  to  give  offence." 

The  account  of  him  given  by  his  successor  is  needed  to 
supplement  this  by  Dr.  Osgood,  which  -evidently  applied 
only  to  one  side  of  Mr.  Thacher's  character.  "  He  pos- 
sessed," says  Mr.  White,  "  intellectual  powers  far  above  the 
ordinary  level.  He  was  able  to  take  comprehensive  views 
and  could  express  them  in  strong  and  clear  language.  He 
could  be  severe  or  pathetic,  as  occasion  required.  As  no 
one  could  long  be  in  his  presence,  so  no  one  could  peruse 
his  writings,  without  being  convinced  of  his  mental  energy. 
Possessed  of  strong  moral  feeling,  he  could  not  look  upon 
vice  but  with  the  strongest  abhorrence  ;  and  when  he  took 
the  lash  he  used  it  with  no  feeble  strokes.  He  was  ardent 
in  his  friendship,  kind,  and  ready  to  sympathize  with  the 
distressed.  Did  he  by  any  harsh  or  hasty  expression  wound 
any  one's  feelings,  he  was  ever  ready  to  make  apology  to 
the  injured.  He  did  not  think  it  a  mark  of  a  great  mind 
never  to  confess  a  fault;  nor  did  he  disdain  to  ask  pardon 
for  the  wrong  he  might  have  done.  He  sought  the  things 
which  make  for  peace." 

Mr.  Thacher  evidently  was  a  man  with  a  vigorous  mind, 


96  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

cast  in  an  original  mould,  so  that  he  thought  and  acted  for 
himself.  He  had  too  little  respect  for  the  conventionalities 
of  society,  and  often  acted  from  the  fresh  impulses  of  a  nat- 
ure that  was  full  of  strong  purposes.  He  was  possessed  of 
a  very  active  sense  of  humor,  and  often  spoke  and  acted 
without  a  nice  regard  to  the  proprieties  of  social  intercourse. 
His  sympathy  was  always  active,  and  he  was  very  charitable 
and  generous.  A  public-spirited  citizen  he  was  on  all  occa- 
sions, being  greatly  interested  in  all  town  affairs,  and  in  the 
politics  of  the  State  and  nation.  He  w^as  in  every  way  the 
leader  of  his  people,  and  to  him  they  went  for  advice  on  sub- 
jects of  every  kind.  To  a  shrewd  and  capable  common 
sense,  he  added  an  acquaintance  with  affairs  and  a  knowl- 
edge of  every  subject  connected  with  the  activities  of  a 
country  parish.  He  could  settle  disputes  between  his  par- 
ishioners, tell  his  neighbors  what  breed  of  swine  to  raise, 
advise  his  friends  as  to  the  best  way  in  which  to  cast  their 
votes,  talk  with  the  Cambridge  men  on  science  and  the 
classics,  and  discuss  with  his  ministerial  brethren,  in  a  man- 
ner of  uncommon  vigor,  all  the  questions  of  theology.  It 
has  been  related  by  a  former  member  of  the  parish,  who  has 
only  recently  passed  away,*  that  on  one  occasion  a  parish- 
ioner was  asked  who  v/as  to  be  voted  for  at  the  coming 
town  meeting;  and  the  reply  was  that  ''he  had  not  yet 
asked    Parson  Thacher." 

In  every  way,  Mr.  Thacher  was  a  typical  country  minister 
of  the  kind  so  common  in  New  England  in  the  last  century. 
In  a  gentle  and  noble  way,  he  was  the  autocrat  of  his  parish, 
ruling  it  with  a  rod  of  love  and  good-will,  with  the  consent 
and  desire  of  his  people,  but  ruling  it  with  no  uncertain  pur- 
pose. Then  the  minister  was  the  educated  man  of  a  country 
parish,  and  the  man  in  all  things  the  best  capable  of  guiding 
his  fellows.  He  was  a  farmer,  tilling  his  own  land,  often 
getting  a  goodly  portion  of  his  income  by  his  activities  as  a 
man  of  business  ;  and  in  many  ways  he  was  the  most  stir- 
ring and  capable  man  in  the  parish.  He  looked  after  the 
interests  of  the  schools  ;  and  he  did  not  forget  to  admonish 
and  advise,  and  to  chastise  with    his  tongue,   the  younger 

*Mr.  Jeremiah  W.  Gay. 


REV.    THOMAS    TIIACITER,    THE    THIRD    MINISTER  97 

portion  of  his  people.  Such  a  man  made  his  influence  felt 
in  every  part  of  his  parish,  and  he  knew  every  member  of  it 
in  the  most  intimate  manner.  He  was  respected  and  ven- 
erated by  his  people,  and  by  many  of  them  he  was  loved 
with  generous  affection. 

As  a  preacher,  Mr.  Thacher  was  marked  for  good  sense, 
clear  thought,  and  an  earnest  purpose.  He  studiously 
avoided  all  efforts  at  arousing  the  feelings  to  an  undue  pitch, 
and  he  equally  avoided  everything  like  undue  enthusiasm 
and  excess  in  religion.  The  school  of  theologians  to  which 
he  belonged  cultivated  a  calm  and  deliberate  manner  of 
preaching  that  applied  itself  to  reason  far  more  than  to  emo- 
tion. He  appealed  to  experience,  to  history,  to  cammon 
sense,  and  to  the  practical  judgment  of  his  people,  in  his 
discourses,  and  not  to  dogmas  or  religious  feelings.  Every- 
thing in  the  shape  of  excitement  and  fervor  he  rigidly  dis- 
carded as  unworthy  of  men  who  would  worship  God  in  spirit 
and  in  truth. 

"As  a  preacher,"  says  Dr.  Samuel  Osgood,  "he  had  none 
of  the  graces  of  rhetoric,  or  other  qualities  fitted  to  render 
him  especially  popular ;  but  he  had  a  vein  of  strong  sense, 
which  gave  him  considerable  favor  with  persons  of  reflection 
and  intelligence."  There  was  probably  little  of  unction  and 
magnetism  in  his  preaching,  and  little  that  aroused  and 
moved  a  congregation  ;  but  there  was  wholesome  teaching, 
that  left  its  deep  results  on  thought  and  life,  and  that  helped 
to  mould  the  purpose  and  the  conduct  of  the  thoughtful. 
His  sermons  were  carefully  planned,  thoroughly  wrought 
out,  written  in  a  good  and  clear  style,  and  had  a  distinct 
end  and  purpose  in  view. 

It  may  truly  be  said  of  Mr.  Thacher  that  he  was  given  to 
hospitality ;  and  it  is  the  social  side  of  his  character  which 
is  the  most  fully  remembered  in  the  parish.  It  was  his 
usual  custom  to  invite  several  of  his  parishioners  to  his 
house  to  dine  after  the  morning  service,  saying  to  them 
that  they  must  expect  ''pot  luck."  On  Sunday  evenings, 
his  people  were  wont  to  gather  at  his  house,  and  there  to 
discuss  the  affairs  of  the  parish,  or  whatever  else  was  upper- 


98  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

most  in  their  minds.  ''Hospitality,"  said  one  of  his  minis- 
terial friends,  '*  was  a  prominent  trait  in  his  character. 
This  is  a  tribute  which  all  who  were  conversant  with  him 
will  cheerfully  pay.  It  was  a  virtue  in  which  he  excelled." 
The  same  friend  says  that  "  he  possessed  a  high  and  delicate 
sense  of  honor,  and  was  susceptible  of  the  tenderest  sym- 
pathy. To  the  distressed  and  needy,  he  was  ever  ready  to 
extend  a  benevolent  arm,  and  to  open  the  charitable  hand. 
In  a  remarkable  degree,  he  was  kind  to  the  poor." 

It  is  evident  that  Mr.  Thacher  was  generous,  sympathetic, 
hospitable,  sociable,  and  a  lover  of  wit  and  fun.  His  jokes, 
witticisms,  odd  speeches,  and  droll  actions  have  been  more 
fully  remembered  in  the  parish  than  anything  else  about 
him.  In  the  sermon  preached  at  his  funeral,  already  quoted, 
this  was  said  :  *'  There  was  sometimes  a  want  of  uniformity 
and  evenness  in  his  deportment,  and  his  passions  evidently 
partook  of  the  strength  of  his  mind.  His  sensibility  was 
quick  and  keen.  Like  the  musical  instrument,  it  obeyed 
the  touch  ;  and,  in  the  warmth  of  the  moment,  he  was  apt 
to  be  warm  in  his  expressions.  By  a  sudden  impulse  of 
feeling,  and  from  a  native  frankness  and  openness  of  mind, 
he  was  sometimes  betrayed  into  extremes,  when  it  is  pre- 
sumed no  moral  evil  was  intended,  when  his  heart  meant 
not  to  be  wrong.  Under  such  strong  excitements,  he  was 
tempted  to  unguarded  licenses,  which,  in  cooler  moments, 
he  pretended  not  to  justify."  This  strong  temper,  joined 
with  his  drollery  and  dislike  of  conventionality,  made  Mr. 
Thacher  a  man  of  a  marked  character,  and  one  long  to  be 
remembered. 

For  many  of  his  parishioners  he  had  a  nickname,  indica- 
tive of  character.  Another  oddity  of  his  was  to  call  his 
pitchers  by  the  names  of  lady  members  of  his  congregation. 
He  even  carried  his  love  of  joking  into  the  pulpit ;  for,  when 
he  was  observed  smiling  frequently  one  afternoon  during 
the  delivery  of  the  sermon,  he  was  asked  the  occasion,  and 
replied,  ''Why,  I  was  preaching  the  very  same  sermon, 
word  for  word,  this  afternoon,  that  I  preached  in  the  morn- 
ing ;  and  I  was  laughing  to  see  how  gravely  you  took  it,  — 


REV.    THOMAS    TIIACIllCR,    Till':    TIIIKI)    MINISTER  QQ 

just  as  if  you  had  never  heard  it  before."     The  sharpness  of 
his  wit  was  sometimes  cutting,  as  when  he  said  of  a  woman 
in  the  parish,   "If   the   Lord   should   send   for  the  greatest 
slut    on   earth,    I   should    tremble   for   my  neighbor's  wife." 
Even  more  stinging  was  his  remark,  that  the  Baptist  society 
was   as  necessary  to  his  own   as  a  sink    to  a  house.     On 
one  occasion,  when  about  going  away  to  preach  a  sermon, 
he  said  to  a  workman,  "I  must  go  and  preach   the  ivord : 
you  will  find  the  spirit  in  the  closet."     When  he  first  came 
to  preach  in  the  parish,  he  said  to  the  family  of  Capt.  Jere- 
miah Baker,  by  whom  he  was  entertained,  the  first  morning 
after   breakfast,  ''Well,  I  suppose   I   must    play   a  tune  on 
that  old  fiddle  of  yours."     Then  he  took  up  the  Bible,  read 
a  chapter,  and  offered  prayer.     His  wit  seems  sometimes  to 
have    aroused   the  wit  of    his  neighbors,  and  on  one    occa- 
sion a  parishioner  quite  got  the  better  of  him  in  a  wit  com- 
bat.    He  named  one  of  his  swine  after  a  parishioner  he  did 
not    hold    in    high    esteem.     The    parishioner    retorted    by 
sketching  a  pig-pen,  with  Mr.  Thacher  standing  by  it,  and 
uttering  this  couplet :  — 

"  My  office,  though  sacred  and  divine, 
I  now  have  left  to  christen  swine." 

There  can  be  no  doubt  he  would  have  thoroughly  enjoyed 
the  spirit  of  one  event,  which,  says  tradition,  happened 
during  his  ministry  in  the  parish.  One  of  his  young  men 
wished  to  marry  a  young  woman  who  lived  in  Walpole,  and 
he  was  very  anxious  to  have  Mr.  Thacher  perform  the  mar- 
riage service.  The  tradition  says  that  the  law  did  not  per- 
mit a  minister  to  go  out  of  his  own  town  to  officiate  on  such 
occasions,  and  that  the  service  must  be  performed  in  the 
town  where  the  bride  lived.  To  get  over  these  difficulties, 
the  parties  concerned  proceeded  to  Bubbling  Brook,  where 
the  happy  couple  stood  on  the  Walpole  side,  and  Mr.  Thacher 
on  the  Dedham  side,  and  the  marriage  took  place. 

It  is  also  related  of  him  that  he  on  one  occasion  exchanged 
with  Mr.  Buckminster,  of  the  Brattle  Street  Church,  Boston. 
A  number  of  young  men  were  in  the  habit  of  attending  that 


lOO  THE    CLAPBOARD    TREES    PARISH 

church,  who  did  not  care  to  hear  any  one  but  the  pastor,  and 
were  accustomed  to  leave  the  church  if  any  other  minister 
appeared  in  the  pulpit.  This  occurred  on  the  day  when  Mr. 
Thacher  preached,  and  he  happened  to  notice  it.  At  his 
nephew's,  during  the  intermission,  he  mentioned  what  had 
taken  place,  and  said,  "  I  have,  at  least,  shown  myself  pos- 
sessed of  one  apostolic  gift  to-day, —  that  of  casting  out 
devils."  This  story  is  told  in  a  somewhat  different  form,  in 
which  this  remark  is  said  to  have  been  made  in  the  First 
Parish  Church,  Dedham.  During  the  fierce  political  discus- 
sions of  the  early  years  of  the  Republic,  he  preached  a  ser- 
mon there  that  was  extremely  partisan  in  its  character,  as 
he  was  strongly  devoted  to  the  principles  of  the  Federalist 
party,  and  not  at  all  disinclined  to  give  strong  expression  to 
his  opinions.  A  number  of  persons  arose  and  went  out  of 
church.  Mr.  Thacher  stopped,  and  said,  ''  I  see  that  I  have, 
at  least,  one  apostolic  gift, —  the  power  to  cast  out  devils." 
It  is  possible  that  both  of  these  incidents  are  true,  and  either 
is  true  enough  to  have  been  highly  characteristic.  Thomas 
Thacher  was  a  man  of  wider  reading  and  greater  intel- 
lectual power  than  his  brother  Peter,  who  preached  in  Bos- 
ton, although  the  latter  was  the  more  polished  and  eloquent 
of  the  two.  Being  a  popular  preacher,  many  of  Peter's  ser- 
mons were  printed  ;  and  he  was  in  the  habit  of  sending 
them  to  his  brother.  On  one  occasion,  when  Peter  was  on 
a  visit  to  Thomas,  he  took  up,  in  his  brother's  study,  a  vol- 
ume labelled  Trash.  ''  What  is  this  book  called  TrasJi  ? " 
asked  Peter.  "Look  and  see  for  yourself,"  was  the  reply. 
After  glancing  through  it,  Peter  exclaimed,  "  Why,  you  dog, 
it  is  my  sermons  !  " 

He  was  sometimes  in  the  habit  of  preparing  his  own 
meals,  with  the  aid  of  his  students.  One  morning,  after 
the  steak  had  been  well  put  on  the  coals,  he  said  to  the 
boys,  "You  watch,  and  I'll  pray."  When  quite  a  young 
man,  he  was  one  day  at  the  house  of  a  relative  in  Milton, 
when  a  lady  asked  him  what  profession  he  intended  to 
choose.  When  he  replied  that  he  was  to  be  a  minister,  she 
expressed   some  doubt  of   his  fitness  for  that    calling.     He 


REV.    THOMAS    TITACHER,    THE    THIRD    MINISTER  lOI 

said  to  her,  '*  Madam,  I  shall  some  day  preach  in  Milton  ;  and 
I  will  make  you  weep."  It  is  said  that  this  really  hap- 
pened a  few  years  later.  A  tradition  of  the  parish  says  that 
Mr.  Thacher  was  engaged  in  marriage  to  a  young  lady,  who 
finally  discarded  him  for  some  other  lover  ;  and  this  is  said 
to  have  been  the  reason  why  he  did  not  marry,  for  his 
disappointment  made  him  resolve  he  would  not  expose 
himself  to  another  failure.  He  was  engaged  to  be  mar- 
ried ;  for  the  town  records  contain  this  entry  under  the 
head  of  ''  Intentions  of  Marriage  "  :  "  Rev.  Thomas  Thacher 
and  Miss  Catherine  Fuller,  both  of  Dedham,  Nov.  20, 
1783."  They  also  reveal  the  fact  that  she  w^s  the  daughter 
of  Hezekiah  and  Anne  Fuller,  and  that  she  was  born  July 
12,  1764.  A  little  farther  on  is  this  entry,  also  under  the 
head  of  "  Intentions  of  Marriage,"  which  seems  to  explain 
why  Mr.  Thacher  did  not  marry:  ''The  Rev.  Ebenezer 
Wight  of  Boston  and  Miss  Catherine  Fuller  of  Dedham, 
October  22,  1785."  Miss  Catherine  was  young  in  1783, 
and  the  oddities  of  her  reverend  lover  may  have  friglitened 
her.  It  is  said,  by  way  of  tradition  in  the  parish,  that  she 
visited  Mr.  Thacher's  house  just  before  the  marriage  was  to 
have  taken  place,  that  she  carelessly  soiled  her  dress  on 
some  fresh  paint,  and  that  he  became  very  angry  with  her, 
so  much  so  that  she  discarded  him. 

These  anecdotes,  with  others  of  a  similar  character,  have 
been  repeated  in  the  parish  until  they  have  become  familiar 
to  every  one.  All  who  knew  him  delighted  to  repeat  them, 
and  to  describe  his  manner  of  life  at  his  own  home  and  in 
the  parish.  Even  now,  he  is  familiarly  spoken  of  as  "  Parson 
Thacher"  ;  and  his  influence  is  yet  strongly  felt  throughout 
the  parish. 

It  would  not  be  just  to  Mr.  Thacher,  however,  to  judge 
him  by  such  anecdotes  as  these  ;  for  they  do  not  represent 
him  at  his  best.  The  most  they  do  is  to  give  us  a  hint  of 
his  every-day  character,  as  he  often  appeared  to  his  parish- 
ioners during  the  week.  He  seems  never  to  have  had  that 
strained  dignity  and  that  forced  seriousness  which  some 
ministers  cultivated  in  the  olden  times,  and  he  did  not 
pretend  to  a  solemnity  which  was  not  natural  to  him. 


102  THE    CLAPBOARD   TREES    PARISH 

Mr.  Thacher  was  a  fine  classical  scholar,  and  well  trained 
in  the  knowledge  of  his  day.  He  was  familiar  with  the 
Greek  and  Latin  classics,  and  often  drew  his  illustrations 
from  the  best  ancient  authors  and  from  the  history  of 
Greece  and  Rome.  In  his  day,  the  classical  authors  were 
as  familiar  as  the  Bible  to  educated  men  ;  and  his  sermons 
testify  that  he  had  read  them  with  interest  and  zeal.  A 
quotation  from  Shakspere  and  one  from  Montesquieu,  as  well 
as  from  other  modern  poets  and  essayists,  indicate  that  he 
read  outside  the  subjects  of  the  mere  student.  He  was 
well  read  in  history,  and  he  was  familiar  with  the  political 
science  of  his  day.  His  scholarship  was  such  that  he  was 
made  a  member  of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and 
Sciences.  It  is  also  said  that  "his  writings  and  his  conver- 
sation were  much  valued  by  learned  men."  In  the  year 
1805  he  delivered  the  Dudleian  lecture  in  Cambridge,  and  in 
1807  he  gave  the  address  at  the  dedication  of  the  Milton 
Academy.  These  are  indications  that  he  was  respected  for 
his  scholarship  on  the  part  of  his  friends.  During  the 
greater  part  of  his  residence  in  the  parish,  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  taking  boys  into  his  house,  who  were  prepared  by 
him  for  entering  Harvard  College.  In  this  work  of  teaching, 
he  was  successful,  being '' an  able  and  useful  instructor." 
He  also  prepared  young  men  for  the  ministry,  and  with  un- 
usual success.  Among  the  men  he  trained  in  theology  was 
Joseph  Tuckerman,  whose  ordination  sermon  he  preached 
at  Chelsea  in  1801,  and  who  became  widely  known  as  the 
founder  of  the  ministry  at  large  in  Boston. 

No  subject  interested  Mr.  Thacher  more  than  the  welfare 
of  his  country.  In  1788,  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the 
State  convention,  which  was  called  for  the  purpose  of  ratify- 
ing the  national  Constitution.  His  colleague  from  Dedham 
was  Fisher  Ames,  a  young  man  of  his  own  age,  who  first 
gained  his  reputation  at  this  time.  Mr.  Ames  spoke  on 
biennial  elections,  and  Mr.  Thacher  also  addressed  the  con- 
vention in  a  speech  in  favor  of  adopting  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution. In  his  Thanksgiving  sermon  of  1795,  his  Fast 
Day  sermons  of   1808  and   18 12,  his  eulogy  of  Washington 


REV.    THOMAS    TlIACTIl'-R,    TIIK    THIRD    MINISTI'.K  IO3 

in  1800,  his  sermon  on  the  death  of  Samuel  Adams  in  1803, 
and  his  general  election  sermon  of  181 1,  given  before  the 
governor,  his  council,  and  the  two  houses  of  the  legislature, 
his  patriotism  and  his  anxious  desire  for  the  welfare  of  the 
Republic  are  fully  made  manifest.  He  thoroughly  believed 
in  American  ideas  and  institutions,  and  he  deprecated  the 
great  political  discords  then  so  common  and  so  threatening. 
The  following  is  a  list  of  the  sermons,  lectures,  and  ad- 
dresses delivered  by  Mr.  Thacher,  and  afterwards  published, 
as  contained  in  an  appendix  to  the  funeral  sermon  by  the 
Rev.  Stephen  Palmer.  It  is  believed  that  everything  he 
published  is  here  enumerated. 

r. —  A  Sermon  upon  Coloss.  3,  12,  February  23,  1784. 

2. —  Speech  in  Convention,  in  favour  of  adopting  the  Federal  Consti- 
tution, A.  D.  1788. 

3.— A  Thanksgiving  Sermon,  February  19,  1795. 

4. —  A  Sermon  on  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Nathaniel  Robbins  of  Mil- 
ton, May  24,  1795. 

5. —  A  Sermon  delivered  in  the  Episcopal  Church,  in  Dedham,  on 
the  festival  of  Christmas,  December  25,  1797. 

6. —  A  Sermon  at  the  Ordination  of  the  Rev.  Elijah  Dunbar,  at 
Peterborough,  (N.  H.)  October  23,  1799. 

7. —  A  Sermon  upon  Ephesians  ii.  8,  delivered  at  Peterborough,  the 
Lord's  day  after  Mr.  Dunbar's  Ordination,  October  27,  1799. 

8.-  Eulogy  on  Gen.  Washington,  delivered  in  Dedham,  February 
22,  1800. 

9.—  A  Discourse  before  the  Humane  Society,  June  18,  1800. 

[Q. —  A  Sermon  upon  Psalm  Ixxviii.  4,  giving  an  historical  sketch  of 
the  third  Parish  in  Dedham,  January  11,  1801. 

II. —  A  Sermon  upon  the  danger  of  despising  the  divine  counsel,  de- 
livered at  Dedham,  third  Parish,  the  Lord's  day  after  the  execution  of 
Jason  Fairbanks,  September  13,  1801. 

12. —  A  Sermon  at  the  Ordination  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Tuckerman,  at 
Chelsea,  November  4,  1801. 

i2._  A  Sermon  on  the  death  of  Governor  Adams,  delivered  at  Ded- 
ham, third  Parish,  the  next  Lord's  day  after  his  interment,  October,  1803. 

14.— A  Sermon  at  the  Dudleian  Lecture,  May  8,  1805. 

15.— A  Discourse  at  the  dedication  of  Milton  Academy,  September 
9,  1807. 

16.  — A  Sermon  on  the  Public  Fast,  April  14,  1808. 

17. A  Biographical  Memoir  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  West,  D.  D.,  1808. 


I04  'I'HE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

1 8. —  A  Sermon  on  taking  leave  of  the  old  meeting-house  in  the  third 
Parish  in  Dedham,  February  26,  1809. 

19. —  A  Sermon  at  the  Dedication  of  the  new  meeting-house  in  the 
third  Parish  in  Dedham,  March  i,  1809. 

20. —  A  Sermon  at  the  General  Election,  May  29,  181 1. 

21. —  A  Sermon  at  the  Funeral  of  the  Rev.  Jabez  Chickering,  March 
16,  1812. 

22. —  A  Sermon  on  the  Public  Fast,  April  9,  1812. 

In  theology,  Mr.  Thacher  belonged  to  that  liberal  school 
of  preachers  which  was  represented  in  Boston  by  the 
younger  Buckminster,  William  Emerson,  and  S.  C.  Thacher. 
These  men  had  modified  and  humanized  the  Calvinism  of 
the  Puritans,  omitted  its  rigid  doctrine  of  election,  quieted 
the  fires  of  its  hell,  and  made  Jesus  subordinate  to  the 
Father.  They  regarded  Christianity  as  a  divine  and  authen- 
ticated revelation,  they  took  the  Bible  as  their  creed,  and 
they  made  the  gospel  of  Jesus  the  way  of  salvation  here  and 
hereafter.  Their  preaching  was  gentle  and  moral,  and  they 
left  all  men  to  search  the  Bible  for  themselves.  ''  In  his 
theological  sentiments,"  it  was  said  of  Mr.  Thacher,  *' he 
called  no  man  master.  No  one  was  ever  more  pointedly 
opposed  to  uninspired  creeds  and  formularies  than  he.  He 
took  the  Bible  exclusively  for  his  guide,  and  examined  and 
thought  for  himself."  This  was  precisely  the  attitude  of 
the  early  Unitarians,  and  to  this  party  he  was  affiliated  by 
all  his  thoughts  and  tendencies.  It  will  have  been  seen  that 
he  did  not  in  any  degree  sympathize  with  infidelity  or  with 
any  loosening  of  the  old  bonds  of  religion.  He  believed  in 
the  Church,  in  the  Bible,  and  in  Christianity  with  all  the 
vigor  of  his  earnest  nature.  His  desire  was  to  make  relig- 
ion simple  and  pure,  and  to  give  it  the  real  gospel  spirit. 
He  did  have,  however,  a  strong  dislike  of  Calvinism.  In 
his  memoir  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  West,  who  was  for  many 
years  the  minister  in  Ncedham,  and  subsequently  settled 
over  the  Hollis  Street  Church  in  Boston,  he  spoke  of  Cal- 
vinism as  "a  gloomy,  contracted  system  of  divinity."  In 
the  ordination  sermon  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Tuckerman  in 
Chelsea,  he  said   of    the   Puritans,   "  We  lament  that   they 


REV.    THOMAS    THACHER,    THE    THIRD    MINISTER  IO5 

carried  intolerance  to  a  very  blameable  extent,  that  they 
were  tinctured  with  bigotry,  and  that  they  were  too  fond  of 
the  dogmas  of  Calvin."  In  his  will,  he  also  gave  expression 
in  very  strong  terms  to  his  dislike  and  his  distrust  of  all 
who  teach  religion  in  a  gloomy  and  bigoted  spirit. 

Where  Mr.  Thacher  first  lived  when  he  came  to  the  parish 
is  not  known,  but  possibly  it  may  have  been  in  the  house 
which  the  parish  gave  to  Mr.  Tyler.  After  he  had  been 
settled  four  years,  in  the  spring  of  1784  he  purchased  of 
Joseph  Onion  the  house  now  owned  by  the  Rev.  Calvin  S. 
Locke,  and  situated  about  twenty  rods  directly  east  of  the 
meeting-house.  On  the  14th  of  April  in  that  year,  the  par- 
ish voted  to  give  him  the  liberty  of  cutting  timber  on  the 
parish  lands  for  sills  for  his  house,  which  would  indicate 
that  the  house  was  enlarged  by  him  when  he  took  posses- 
sion of  it.  In  connection  with  the  house,  Mr.  Thacher  pur- 
chased a  small  farm  ;  and  his  varied  duties  included  those 
of  a  farmer  as  well  as  those  of  a  teacher  and  a  minister. 

On  the  19th  of  October,  1812,  Mr.  Thacher  died.  He 
was  only  fifty-six  years  of  age,  and  he  had  always  been  in 
vigorous  health  until  within  a  few  months  of  his  death. 
During  the  summer  of  that  year,  he  was  not  able  to  preach  ; 
and  his  pulpit  was  supplied  by  his  friends,  the  ministers  of 
the  neighboring  churches. 

The  loss  of  two  of  his  intimate  friends,  as  well  as  a  fatal 
accident  happening  to  one  of  his  pupils,  are  said  to  have 
helped  on  that  depression  of  spirit  which  joined  with  disease 
to  take  him  away  at  so  early  an  age.  His  funeral  discourse 
was  preached  by  his  friend,  the  Rev.  Stephen  Palmer,  of 
Needham,  who  paid  a  worthy  tribute  to  his  memory.  ''  He 
was  a  burning  and  a  shining  light,"  said  his  eulogist ;  "  and 
you  were  willing  to  rejoice  in  his  light  for  a  season,  and 
ought  still  to  rejoice  that  it  shone  so  long.  To  you,  he  was 
an  affectionate  minister.  He  took  a  lively  interest  in  your 
feelings,  and  was  devoted  to  your  prosperity  and  welfare. 
It  was  the  unfeigned  desire  of  his  heart  to  build  you  up 
in  temporal  as  well  as  in  spiritual  things.  You  have  been 
much    honored,   and,    I    will    hope,   equally  profited,   by  his 


I06  THE    CLAPBOARD    TREES    PARISH 

labors.  It  now  remains  that  you  profit  by  his  death.  He 
expressed  an  anxious  concern  for  your  peace  and  religious 
welfare,  when   he   should   be   gone." 

By  his  will,  Mr.  Thacher  left  the  larger  part  of  his  prop- 
erty to  the  parish  with  which  he  had  been  connected  for 
more  than  thirty-two  years.  His  gift  included  his  farm  of 
twenty  acres  and  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  of 
personal  property,  in  all  amounting  to  three  thousand  dol- 
lars. He  had  already  contributed  liberally  towards  the 
building  of  the  meeting-house,  to  the  establishment  of  a  min- 
isterial fund,  and  to  other  objects  calculated  to  promote  the 
welfare  of  the  parish.  He  had  a  strong  affection  for  his 
people,  and  he  had  no  stronger  desire  than  to  secure  their 
prosperity.  The  conditions  on  which  he  left  his  property 
to  the  parish  indicate  how  keenly  he  had  felt  the  secession 
of  a  part  of  his  parishioners,  and  how  warmly  he  was  op- 
posed to  the  more  rigid  forms  of  religion  taught  in  the 
New  England  churches.  There  follows,  word  for  word,  the 
text  of  his  will^  in  full :  — 

In  the  name  of  the  Eternal  God,  and  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the 
first  born  of  every  creature,  and  the  Savior  of  mankind ;  Amen. 

I,  Thomas  Thacher,  of  Dedham,  in  the  county  of  Norfolk  and  Com- 
monwealth of  Massachusetts,  clerk,  being  through  divine  goodness  of 
sound  mind  and  health,  and  considering  the  uncertainty  of  life,  do  con- 
stitute and  ordain  this  to  be  my  last  will  and  testament. 

Imprimis.  I  commend  my  spirit  unto  the  hands  of  God  who  gave 
it,  not  doubting  but  that  I  shall  be  judged  by  a  being  of  infinite  wisdom 
and  boundless  benevolence,  who  will  require  no  more  of  me  than  what 
he  doth  enable  me  to  perform,  and  will  measure  his  final  judgment, 
not  by  the  faith  of  gloomy  and  perverse  bigots  (who  sacrilegiously  as- 
sume the  prerogatives  of  heaven,  and  with  an  equal  degree  of  folly 
and  presumption,  decide  on  the  future  fates  of  mankind,)  but  by  the 
everlasting  principles  of  truth  and  goodness,  by  the  rank  which  I  have 
held  in  his  creation  and  by  the  relation  which  I  l)ear  to  him  and  his 
offspring. 

My  body  I  commend  to  the  dust  in  sure  and  certain  hope  of  the 
resurrection  and  a  future  life.  And  as  the  desire  of  preserving  some 
frail  memorial  of  our  name  and  actions  is  common  to  humanity,  it  is 
my  will  and  request,  that  a  plain  monument  be  erected  over  my  grave, 
with  a  Latin  inscription  which  I  shall  enclose  in  this  instrument.  Fur- 
thermore, it  is  my  will  that,  after  my  just  debts  and  funeral  charges  shall 


REV.    THOMAS    THACHER,    THE    THIRD    MINISTER  10/ 

have  been  defrayed,  the  remainin*^  property  shall  be  disposed  of  in  the 
following  manner : 

Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  nephew,  P.  O.  Thacher,  Esq.,  of 
Boston  in  the  county  of  Suffolk,  the  sum  of  one  thousand  dollars.  I 
also  give  and  commit  to  his  care  all  my  manuscripts  which  I  shall 
leave  at  my  decease ;  and  it  is  my  request  that  he  burn  or  destroy  all 
such  as  are  unfinished  or  imperfect.  I  also  will  and  direct  that  if  my 
nephew,  P.  O.  Thacher,  wishes  for  any  part  of  my  library  or  household 
furniture  as  a  part  of  the  legacy  aforesaid,  that  he  have  liberty  to  take 
it  at  a  fair  appraisement. 

Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  friend,  Nathan  P.  West,  of  Boston, 
the  sum  of  fifty  dollars,  to  be  laid  out  in  silver  plate  in  such  way  and 
manner  as  he  may  direct ;  and  to  his  brother,  Benjamin  West,  of  Boston, 
I  give  and  bequeath  a  gold  ring  and  breast-pin  bequeathed  to  me  by  the 
Hon.  S.  Dexter,  Esq. 

Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  the  third  parish  in  Dedham,  usually 
called  Clapboard  trees,  all  my  real  estate  which  shall  remain  after  the  pay- 
ment of  my  just  debts  and  the  legacies  mentioned  in  this  instrument, 
provided  they  comply  with  the  following  conditions;  first,  that  they  pay 
in  trust  to  P.  O.  Thacher,  Esq.,  of  Boston,  the  sum  of  thirty  dollars 
annually  during  the  space  of  ten  years  towards  the  support  of  my  sister 
Judith  Thacher,  provided  she  so  long  survive  after  my  decease.  Should 
the  said  P.  O.  Thacher  die  before  the  said  term  of  ten  years  expires,  it 
may  be  paid  to  his  executors  or  any  person  whom  he  may  assign  for 
the  above  mentioned  purpose.  Second,  that  all  such  real  estate  as  they 
shall  recieve  of  me  shall  forever  be  kept  for  the  use  of  a  parsonage  and 
shall  never  be  alienated  or  sold,  it  being  my  intention  that  it  should 
remain  forever  for  the  support  and  maintenance  of  a  Congregational 
minister.  Also,  that  the  net  proceeds  of  any  personal  estate  which  they 
may  recieve  from  me  shall  be  added  and  appropriated  to  the  parish  min- 
isterial fund,  so-called,  in  said  third  parish  in  Dedham.  Third,  that 
within  five  years  of  my  decease  they  settle  a  minister  educated  at  Har- 
vard College  in  Cambridge,  and  one  who  is  not  of  high  Calvinistic  or 
Hopkinsian  sentiments,  and  who  has  recieved  no  part  of  his  education 
at  the  theological  institution  in  Andover  in  Massachusetts ;  also,  that  it 
be  a  condition  of  his  settlement  and  continuance  among  them  that  he 
shall  never  preach  or  promote  such  sentiments. 

Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  Lieut.  W.  B.  Shubrick  the  sum  of 
twenty  dollars,  in  testimony  of  my  respect  for  him  and  his  family,  to  be 
appropriated  as  he  shall  think  proper. 

Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  respected  friend,  Levi  Hedge, 
professor  at  Harvard  College,  the  sum  of  twenty  dollars  in  consideration 
of  many  civilities  and  important  acts  of  friendship. 

Item.  As  to  the  rest  and  residue  of  my  estate,  both  real  and  per- 
sonal, if  there  shall  any  remain  after   payment  of   debts,  legacies   and 


I08  THE    CLAPBOARD    TREES    PARISH 

bequests  aforesaid,  I  give  and  bequeath  it  to  the  third  parish  aforesaid 
in  Dedham,  to  be  used  and  appropriated  according  to  the  conditions 
in  the  above  bequest  to  said  parish.  And  I  do  hereby  constitute  and 
appoint  my  nephew,  P.  O.  Thacher,  Esq.,  of  Boston,  to  be  the  sole  exec- 
utor of  this  my  last  will  and  testanient. 

Codicil.  In  addition  to  the  above  will  and  testament  I,  the  sub- 
scriber, do  subjoin  the  following  codicil  : 

Whereas,  in  that  instrument  I  have  given  to  the  third  parish  in  Ded- 
ham all  my  real  and  personal  estate,  after  the  payment  of  my  just  debts 
and  legacies,  to  which  are  'affixed  certain  conditions,  for  the  non-per- 
formance of  which  no  penalty  or  forfeiture  is  mentioned,  I  further  will 
and  ordain  that  in  case  the  conditions  aforesaid  are  not  complied  with, 
that  all  my  estate  revert  and  be  given  to  my  nephew,  P.  O.  Thacher, 
Esq.,  of  Boston,  and  his  heirs  forever. 

I  furthermore  constitute  and  appoint  the  members  of  the  Supreme 
judiciary  of  Massachusetts  to  be  the  judges  of  the  conditions  mentioned 
in  the  above  instrument. 

Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  the  Rev.  Stephen  Palmer,  of  Need- 
ham,  the  sum  of  ten  dollars  to  purchase  a  mourning  ring. 

Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  Mr.  Benjamin  West,  of  Boston,  in 
addition  to  the  legacy  mentioned  in  the  above  instrument,  all  the  gold 
and  silver  apparel  which  I  shall  have  at  my  decease. 

The  condition  of  Mr.  Thacher's  will,  that  the  minister 
should  never  preach  or  promote  high  Calvinistic  or  Hopkin- 
sian  beliefs,  was  a  source  of  much  perplexity  to  the  parish. 
At  a  meeting  held  April  13,  18 13,  a  committee  of  two  was 
appointed  to  secure  the  opinions  of  two  eminent  counselors 
on  the  validity  of  this  condition.  Doubts  having  been  ex- 
pressed as  to  whether  this  condition  could  or  ought  to  be 
carried  into  effect,  this  action  was  taken.  The  subject  was 
again  brought  up  in  May  ;  and  it  was  then  dismissed,  prob- 
ably because  the  condition  was  found  to  be  obligatory. 

After  the  death  of  Mr.  Thacher,  the  Rev.  William  Mon- 
tague preached  for  a  time  in  supply  of  the  pulpit.  In  Feb- 
ruary, 1 81 3,  the  church  invited  Isaac  Hurd  to  become  its 
pastor;  and  in  March  the  parish  unanimously  concurred.  It 
would  seem  that  Mr.  Hurd  was  a  young  man,  and  his  place 
of  residence  was  Charlestown.  The  people  evidently  thought 
well  of  him,  and  were  anxious  to  have  him  for  a  minister ; 
but  he  did  not  like  the  theological  restrictions  placed  on  the 
pulpit  by  the  conditions  of  Mr.   Thacher's  bequest.      In  his 


REV.    THOMAS    TIIACIIF.K,    Till-:    THIRD     MINISTER  IO9 

letter  declining  the  call  to  become  the  minister  of  the  parish, 
he  said  :  — 

The  unanimity  you  have  discovered,  the  expressions  of  esteem  which 
I  have  received  during  my  visits  among  you,  with  other  agreeable  cir- 
cumstances, have  served  to  create  an  attachment  and  to  excite  a  lively 
interest  in  your  welfare  ;  and  it  is  not  without  painful  feelings  and  the 
sacrifice  of  many  pleasant  anticipations  that  I  am  obliged  from  princi- 
ples of  duty  to  return  a  negative  answer  to  your  call.  I  have,  however, 
found  it  impossible,  in  the  event  of  accepting  your  invitation,  to  remove 
all  those  doubts,  and  to  possess  that  satisfaction  of  mind,  which  the 
consciousness  of  having  formed  a  proper  determination  would  produce, 
and  which  would  be  necessary  to  a  faithful  and  cheerful  discharge  of 
the  duties  of  my  office.  One  reason  which  has  influenced  this  decision 
I  have  made,  as  it  is  perhaps  the  most  powerful,  it  may  be  necessary  to 
state ;  and  that  arises  from  the  conditions  on  which  your  late  reverend 
pastor,  Mr.  Thacher,  has  made  his  bequest  to  the  parish.  The  terms  on 
which  his  donation  must  be  received  as  a  part  of  the  salary  of  his  suc- 
cesor  are  such  that  I  cannot  consistently  with  the  dictates  of  my  con- 
science accede  to  them.  They  impose  that  restraint  upon  my  future 
opinions  to  which  a  regard  for  truth  and  the  importance  of  free  inquiry 
forbid  me  to  submit. 

It  is  evident  that  at  the  time  when  he  wrote  this  letter 
Mr.  Hurd  could  comply  with  the  conditions  required  of  the 
minister  who  should  settle  with  the  parish  ;  but  he  was  un- 
willing to  pledge  himself  for  the  future,  or  to  settle  where 
such  a  limitation  was  placed  on  his  utterance  of  what  he 
believed  to  be  truth.  Before  calling, .another  minister,  the 
parish  secured  a  statement  of  these  conditions  from  a  legal 
authority,  which  was  to  be  inserted  in  the  call,  so  that  the 
parish  might  secure  his  dismissal  at  any  time  if  he  violated 
the  conditions  of  the  will. 


IX. 


REV.    JOHN    WHITE,    THE    FOURTH    MINISTER. 

In  February,  1814,  one  year  and  a  half  after  the  death  of 
Mr.  Thacher,  a  call  was  extended  to  John  White,  of  Con- 
cord, to  become  the  minister.  He  was  offered  six  hundred 
dollars  and  ten  cords  of  wood  for  his  salary.  The  call  was 
given  on  condition  of  his  complying  with  the  requirements 
of  Mr.  Thacher's  will.  In  his  letter  of  acceptance,  Mr. 
White  wrote  :  — 

As  to  the  sentiments  on  religious  subjects  that  I  have  expressed  in 
public  and  in  private,  they  are  what  I  now  concieve  to  be  agreeable  to 
the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  which  are  the  rule  of 
faith  and  practice,  and  according  to  which  I  expect  to  be  judged  at  the 
last  day.  Still,  I  would  have  it  understood,  that  no  pledge  is  given  on 
my  part  to  maintain  any  system  of  doctrine,  farther  than  it  shall  appear 
at  any  time  to  be  supported  by  the  oracles  of  God.  And  if,  in  the 
course  of  my  inquiries  after  truth,  a  change  take  place  in  my  opinions 
concerning  the  import  of  sacred  writings,  I  shall  feel  myself  at  liberty 
to  communicate  them  without  reserve. 

Mr.  White  was  no^  more  willing  than  was  Mr.  Hurd  to 
foreclose  his  mind  to  truth.  In  fact,  by  this  time  such  a 
spirit  had  grown  up  in  the  Congregational  churches  of  New 
England  as  precluded  any  arbitrary  limitations  in  regard  to 
free  inquiry.  Especially  among  the  more  liberal  party,  to 
which  Mr.  White  belonged,  there  was  entire  unwillingness 
to  subscribe  to  any  doctrinal  restrictions  of  any  kind  what- 
ever. While  they  revolted  against  the  doctrines  of  Calvin, 
they  did  not  seek  for  any  other  doctrinal  statement  of  faith. 
This  attitude  of  the  time,  and  of  Mr.  White  as  one  of  the 
liberal  party,  must  be  taken  into  account,  in  order  to  under- 
stand why  the  parish  became  distinctly  Unitarian  under  his 
ministry. 


REV.    JOHN    WHITE,    THE    FOURTH    MINISTER  III 

The  memory  of  Mr.  Wliite  is  yet  so  fragrant  in  the  parish 
it  is  ahiiost  impossible  for  any  one  to  do  full  justiee  to  the 
love  and  veneration  that  was  and  is  felt  for  him.  No  state- 
ment of  one  who  did  not  know  him  ean  fill  out  the  picture 
of  him,  which  is  in  the  minds  of  all  who  knew  him  in  the 
flesh,  and  in  the  beautiful  spirit  of  his  daily  life.  He  was 
ordained  April  20,  1814,  the  sermon  being  preached  by  his 
own  pastor,  the  Rev.  Ezra  Ripley,  of  Concord.  The  charge 
was  given  by  the  Rev.  George  Morey,  of  Walpole,  and  the 
right  hand  of  fellowship  by  the  Rev.  Joshua  Bates,  of  the 
first  parish  in  Dedham.  That  Mr.  Bates  took  part  in  this 
service  was  an  indication  that  the  separation  in  the  Congre- 
gational churches  had  not  yet  come,  for  he  belonged  to  the 
stricter  party.  Near  the  end  of  his  sermon,  Dr.  Ripley  said 
to  his  young  friend  :  — 

That  mixture  of  diffidence  and  fortitude,  faith  and  exertion,  which 
has  marked  your  approach  to  the  solemnities  of  this  day,  exhibits  your 
character  in  a  very  favorable  point  of  light,  and  is  a  fair  presage  of 
future  reputation  and  success.  It  is  with  no  ordinary  joy  that  I  wel- 
come to  the  stated  ministry  one  so  well  disposed  and  qualified  — one  so 
dear  to  my  heart  and  so  worthy  of  my  esteem.  From  the  day  when  you 
were  publicly  dedicated  to  God,  we  observed  with  hope  and  delight  your 
growth  in  stature  and  in  favor  with  God  and  man.  Our  hearts  were 
gladdened  by  the  discovery  of  early  dispositions  to  the  ways  of  wisdom  ; 
and  our  joy  was  full  at  seeing  you,  while  a  youth,  devote  yourself  to  God 
and  enlist  under  the  banner  of  the  cross  in  the  bosom  of  the  church  of 
Christ.  Our  expectations  have  not  been  disappointed ;  our  hopes  are 
now  realized  by  your  taking  part  with  us  in  the  ministry  of  reconcilia- 
tion, the  power  of  which,  we  trust,  you  have  felt  upon  your  own  heart. 
With  delightful  sensibility  we  participate  in  the  joy  which  events  of  this 
day  must  give  to  your  particular  friends,  and  especially  to  your  pious 
and  affectionate  father,  who  witnesses  the  best  fruits  of  his  tender  cares 
for  you,  and  joyous  answers  to  his  fervent  prayers  in  your  behalf. 

At  the  parish  meeting,  when  Mr.  White  was  voted  upon, 
thirty  favored  him,  and  ten  were  opposed.  In  his  letter  of 
acceptance,  he  said  that  he  understood  the  opposition  was 
not  with  reference  to  himself,  but  those  who  objected  wished 
for  more  explicit  terms  of  settlement.  The  committee  of 
arrano-ements    for    his    ordination     consisted    of    Benjamin 


112 


THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 


Fisher,  Capt.  Jeremiah  Baker,  Moses  Richards,  Capt.  Ben- 
jamin Fairbanks,  Samuel  Thwing,  Jesse  Warren,  and  Capt. 
Daniel  Covell.  Colburn  Ellis  was  paid  $5.63  for  thir- 
teen half-pints  of  spirit  and  crackers  and  cheese  for  the 
singers  on  this  occasion,  according  to  the  treasurer's  ac- 
counts. It  cost  the  parish  one  hundred  dollars  for  enter- 
taining the  council. 

Mr.  White  was  born  in  Concord,  Mass.,  Dec.  22,  1787, 
His  father  was  John  White,  a  beloved  and  venerated  citizen 
of  that  place,  and  for  many  years  a  deacon  of  the  church 
there.     In  early  youth,  Mr.  White  manifested  the  spirit  of 

piety,  and  he  was  always 
pure  and  upright  in  his  con- 
duct. His  minister  there 
was  the  Rev.  Ezra  Ripley, 
who  was  the  pastor  in  that 
church  for  more  than  sixty 
years,  and  a  man  of  an 
original  and  striking  cast  of 
mind.  He  was  much  such 
a  man  as  Mr.  Thacher,  with 
\  whom  he  was  contemporary 
at  Harvard  ;  and  all  his 
excellences,  faults,  and  wit 
have  been  written  of  in  a 
tender  manner  by  Emerson  and  Mr.  F.  B.  Sanborn.  Dr. 
Ripley  often  preached  in  the  Clapboard  Trees  parish  after 
Mr.  White  settled  in  it,  and  he  is  yet  well  remembered  by 
at  least  one  person  at  whose  father's  house  he  often  visited.* 
Mr.  White's  preparatory  studies  were  carried  on  at  the 
seminary  in  Exeter,  and  he  entered  Harvard  College  at  the 
age  of  thirteen.  He  graduated  in  1805,  and  with  a  good 
reputation  as  a  student.  He  was  then  a  tutor  in  Bowdoin 
College  for  a  short  period.  His  theological  studies  were 
begun  under  the  instruction  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Chickering, 
of  Woburn,  and  were  concluded  under  Dr.  Ware  in  Cam- 
bridge. At  this  period,  he  held  some  connection  with  the 
college,  probably  as  a  tutor.     ''There  I  first  saw  him/'  says 

*  Mrs.  Merrill  D.  Ellis. 


THE    REV.    JOHN    WHITE. 


REV.    JOHN    WHITE,    THE    FOURTH    MINISTER  II3 

Dr.  Lamson,  "  and  I  remembered  well  the  same  look,^ 
grave,  sincere,  respectful,  and  full  of  self-respect, —  which 
he  never  ceased  to  wear ;  and  I  know  how  greatly  he  was 
esteemed   by  acquaintances  and  friends." 

All  who  knew  Mr.  White  will  say  that  he  was  a  true  min- 
ister. He  was  not  a  great  preacher,  had  no  ambition  in  that 
direction,  did  not  covet  distinction  ;  but  he  was  thoroughly 
devoted  to  his  work,  and  zealous  in  his  love  for  his  people. 
He  was  gentle,  devout,  sympathetic,  and  full  of  kindly  feel- 
ing. Everybody  loved  him,  and  he  had  the  good  will  of  all 
within  and  without  his  own  congregation.  He  was  of  a  mild 
and  forbearing  spirit,  even  in  temper,  gracious  in  manner, 
and  ready  always  to  speak  the  word  of  peace. 

During  his  long  settlement  of  thirty-eight  years,  the  parish 
was  in  a  condition  of  entire  harmony.  His  nature  was  of 
that  mould  that  he  was  ever  the  same  on  all  occasions,  had  no 
ups  and  downs,  uttered  no  rash  words,  and  did  nothing  which 
could  in  any  way  promote  discord.  This  had  its  effect  on 
the  parish,  and  helped  to  promote  the  good  feeling  which 
continued  throughout  his  long  ministry.  Dr.  Lamson  paid 
a  worthy  tribute  to  his  success  in  this  direction  :  ''  A  more 
peaceful  ministry  never  existed.  Through  these  long  years, 
not  a  murmur  of  discontent  has  ever  arisen ;  no  acrimony  of 
feeling  has  ever  been  awakened  ;  there  has  been  no  angry 
controversy  ;  no  bitterness  nor  strife  ;  no  feverish  restless- 
ness ;  no  ill-feeling  ;  no  reproach  nor  recrimination.  All  has 
been  light ;  no  dark  cloud  has  risen  in  your  sky."  This  was 
said  by  Dr.  Lamson  in  his  funeral  sermon ;  and  he  also  said 
to  the  congregation  then  assembled  :  "  You  all  trusted  him  ; 
you  knew  that  he  was  your  friend,  that  he  was  a  kind  inter- 
preter of  motives  and  actions,  that  he  was  not  one  who  was 
disposed  easily  to  contract  prejudices,  or  to  have  his  mind 
darkened  by  suspicion  and  distrust.  So  he  proceeded  on  his 
calm,  even  way,  provoking  no  hostility ;  for  it  was  not  easy 
to  feel  enmity  towards  such  a  man, —  in  his  going  out  and 
coming  in,  so  prudent,  always  considerate  of  others'  feelings, 
so  just,  so  self-possessed,  so  reasonable." 

Tribute  has  been  paid  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  White  by  Dr. 


114  THE    CLAPBOARD    TREES    PARISH 

kamson,  in  his  admirable  funeral  discourse,  by  the  Rev.  C.  C. 
Sevvall,  and  by  Mr.  Locke.  All  that  now  can  be  said  of  his 
character  and  the  admirable  nature  of  his  ministry  has  been 
said  by  these  persons.  Whoever  follows  them  must  repeat  in 
substance  what  they  have  said,  and  said  in  a  manner  very 
excellent  and  just.  They  all  bear  tribute  to  his  unworldly 
and  simple  character,  to  his  fidelity  and  uprightness,  and  to 
his  desire  to  serve  his  fellow-men. 

During  the  ministry  of  Mr.  White,  the  parish  became  Uni- 
tarian ;  but  it  became  so  without  any  special  agitation,  and 
probably  without  controversy  or  bitterness  of  any  kind.  His 
preaching  was  practical,  and  not  theological ;  and  it  was  cal- 
culated to  teach  men  how  to  live  rather  than  how  to  settle 
disputed  points  in  religion.  People  of  all  shades  of  belief 
heard  his  preaching,  and  all  alike  were  edified  by  it.  He 
drove  no  one  away  by  what  he  said,  because  he  said  nothing 
at  which  any  one  could  take  offence.  He  was  devout,  trust- 
ing, possessed  of  the  true  spirit  of  a  living  faith  ;  and  he 
made  religion  real  and  helpful  to  those  who  heard  him.  His 
aim  was  to  develop  a  pure  and  holy  living,  in  .the  gospel 
manner  and  purpose.  He  was  not  an  aggressive  Unitarian, 
sought  no  controversies  with  those  of  other  religious  profes- 
sions, and  had  no  desire  to  promote  the  interests  of  a  sect. 
His  Unitarianism  was  that  of  the  first  generation  of  its  pro- 
fessed advocates  in  this  country,  who  wished  to  return  to  the 
pure  and  simple  teachings  of  Jesus,  and  who  wished  to  get 
rid  of  all  theology  that  was  in  opposition  to  the  ten  com- 
mandments, the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  a  pure  trust  in  God 
and  a  future  life,  and  who  found  in  Jesus  a  Master  to  whom 
they  gave  the  truest  reverence.  They  took  the  Bible  as  their 
creed,  and  they  gave  it  a  generous  and  a  loving  interpre- 
tation. 

During  Mr.  White's  ministry,  four  of  his  sermons  were 
printed.  The  first  of  these  was  given  before  the  Society 
for  the  Suppression  of  Intemperance,  an  auxiliary  branch  of 
which  was  organized  in  Dedham.  This  sermon  was  deliv- 
ered in  1817,  and  was  a  plea  for  the  temperance  movement 
which  had  just  begun.      He  was  one  of  the  vice-presidents 


REV.    JOHN    WHITE,    THE    FOURTH    MINISTER  II5 

of  the  society  to  which  he  spoke,  and  he  was  fully  in  sym- 
pathy with  its  objects.  His  sermon  was,  in  fact,  an  exposi- 
tion of  the  objects  of  the  society  and  a  defence  of  its  reasons 
for  bein<;-. 

His  next  printed  sermon  was  preached  in  1822,  at  the 
funeral  of  the  Rev.  Stephen  Palmer,  of  Needham,  who 
preached  the  funeral  discourse  at  the  death  of  Mr.  Thacher. 
Mr.  Palmer  was  of  the  more  orthodox  of  the  Congregation- 
alists,  the  separation  between  the  two  branches  of  that  body 
not  then  having  been  made  complete.  In  his  sermon,  Mr. 
White  alluded  to  the  Orthodoxy  of  his  friend,  and  also  to 
his  liberality  and  toleration  as  well  as  to  his  charity  of  mind. 
"We  have  in  this  union,"  he  said,  "an  example  which,  if 
followed,  would  present  to  our  view  the  Christian  world, 
like  a  band  of  brethren,  not  contending  merely  for  the  prev- 
alence of  one  system  of  speculative  belief  over  another,  but 
striving  together  in  the  exercise  of  kind  affection  to  pro- 
mote practical  godliness." 

In  1828,  Mr.  White  preached  a  sermon  on  "The  Nature 
and  Extent  of  Christian  Liberty."  This  was  probably  as 
clear  and  full  an  expression  of  his  attitude  towards  the  doc- 
trines of  religion  as  he  ever  gave.  It  was  an  excellent 
statement  of  the  liberal  idea  of  the  worth  and  need  of  liberty 
in  religion.  He  maintained  that  there  should  be  liberty  in 
regard  to  the  use  of  the'  external  rites  of  religion  ;  that  every 
individual  should  have  the  right  of  the  free  exercise  of  lib- 
erty in  the  interpretation  of  the  Bible,  no  one  possessing  a 
claim  to  the  privilege  of  dominion  over  his  faith  ;  that  there 
should  be  freedom  from  the  dominion  of  sin  ;  and  that  Chris- 
tian liberty  implies  freedom  from  the  condemning  power  of 
sin.  He  claimed  that  the  doctrines  most  contended  for 
are  those  enveloped  in  mystery  and  darkness,  and  those 
which  are  inferred  rather  than  clearly  stated.  He  held 
firmly  to  the  Bible  as  the  source  of  Christian  teaching,  but 
he  would  have  men  perfectly  free  to  interpret  it  for  them- 
selves. 

In  1836,  on  the  occasion  of  the  one  hundredth  anniver- 
sary of  the  distinct  existence  of  the  parish,  Mr.  White  pre- 


Il6  THE    CLAPBOARD    TREES    PARISH 

pared  an  historical  sermon,  which  was  soon  after  published. 
On  account  of  a  storm,  it  was  not  delivered  on  the  loth  of 
January,  but  a  week  later.  It  was  the  first  account  of  the 
history  of  the  parish,  of  any  fulness  or  thoroughness,  which 
had  ever  been  prepared.  It  indicates  much  research  and 
careful  preparation,  a  use  of  the  church  and  parish  records 
and  of  such  traditions  as  could  be  relied  on.  It  includes, 
with  the  numerous  notes  which  were  appended,  an  admirable 
account  of  the  parish  and  those  who  had  lived  in  it.  His 
estimate  of  the  ministers  who  had  preceded  him  in  the  par- 
ish was  fair  and  just,  and  expressed  in  his  usual  charitable 
spirit.  In  every  way,  it  showed  his  attachment  to  the 
parish,  and  his  love  of  that  which  was  best  in  its  life. 
Speaking  of  the  houses  of  the  first  settlers,  several  of  which 
still  remained  in  his  day,  he  said  :  "  We  look  with  a  sort 
of  veneration  upon  these  ancient  abodes  of  the  men  and 
women  of  a  generation  long  since  passed  away.  They 
remind  us  of  the  firmness  and  vigor  and  determined  spirit 
which  were  characteristic  of  their  occupants.  They  have 
stood  through  the  storms  and  sunshine  of  more  than  a  hun- 
dred annual  revolutions.  The  present  strength  of  their 
frames  makes  us  almost  ready  to  believe  that  they  may 
endure  through  another  century.  Their  sturdy  oaken  beams 
seem  to  defy  the  tooth  of  time,  compared  with  which  our 
modern  structures  are  like  the  vapor  which  appeareth  for  a 
little  time  and  then  vanisheth  away."  It  was  to  be  expected 
that  Mr.  White  would  love  the  sturdy  and  honest  work  of 
the  first  settlers,  and  have  a  feeling  of  firm  respect  for  what 
they  did  and  were. 

The  peace  and  quietude  of  the  parish  at  this  period,  its 
very  prosperity  and  success,  give  less  than  ever  before  for 
the  historian  to  record.  The  better  its  work  is  done,  the 
less  is  there  in  the  life  of  a  religious  society  which  can  at- 
tract any  special  interest.  Men  and  women  were  being 
made  stronger  for  human  duty  and  more  worthy  to  serve 
God,  but  these  things  cannot  be  put  upon  record  or  brought 
forth  to  adorn  the  historian's  page.  The  quiet  simplicity  of 
Mr.  White's  life  left  its  lasting  impression  on  his  people ; 


REV.    JOHN    WHITE,    THE    FOURTH    MINISTER  II7 

but  it  went  evenly  on  from  day  to  day,  without  jar  or  dis- 
cord. He  was  a  true  pastor  and  a  faithful  shepherd  of  his 
flock. 

He  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  his  predecessor,  and  was 
in  the  habit  of  taking  to  his  house  a  number  of  boys  for 
private  instruction  in  preparation  for  college.  This  work  he 
carried  on  successfully,  and  it  added  to  his  moderate  income 
by  a  method  which  was  congenial  to  his  nature.  His  house 
was  the  centre  of  the  social  activity  of  the  parish.  Two 
daughters  were  born  to  him,  Elizabeth  Jane  and  Delia 
Dwight.  Soon  after  his  settlement,  he  built  a  commodious 
house  a  few  rods  west  of  the  meeting-house,  now  owned  by 
Mr.  Franklin  Copeland;  and  there  he  resided  until  his  death. 

During  his  ministry,  he  was  greatly  aided  by  his  wife,  to 
whom  he  was  married  Jan.  i,  1817.  She  was  Delia  Jane 
Holcomb  Dwight,  the  daughter  of  Seth  Dwight,  of  Utica, 
N.Y. ;  but  she  had  lived  for  many  years  with  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Holcomb,  of  Sterling,  whose  wife  was  her  aunt.  She  was 
eminently  fitted  to  be  the  wife  of  a  minister,  for  she  was 
energetic,  devoted,  and  self-possessed.  She  was  very  active 
in  promoting  the  interests  of  the  parish,  and  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  take  the  lead  when  any  hard  work  was  to  be  done. 
She  readily  became,  says  Mr.  Sewall,  "  a  fit  helpmate  to  her 
husband  in  all  his  pastoral  and  his  domestic  affairs.  What- 
ever might  affect  any  of  the  people,  whether  of  joy  or  sor- 
row, was  of  interest  to  her,  and  whenever  sickness,  suffering, 
or  bereavem.ent  became  their  experience,  her  sympathetic, 
helpful,  and  comforting  presence  was  quickly  afforded  to 
them.  But  it  was  in  her  own  home,  in  all  her  domestic  ar- 
rangements, and  in  the  constant  demands  on  her  there,  that 
the  disposition  and  ability  of  Mrs.  White  were  most  actively 
and  fully  developed."  Her  memory  is  still  a  constant  influ- 
ence in  the  parish,  and  her  name  is  associated  with  many  a 
benefit  now  enjoyed  by  it. 

Mrs.  White,  after  the  death  of  her  first  husband,  married 
Benjamin  D.  Emerson,  the  author  of  a  widely  used  arithme- 
tic, and  lived  in  Jamaica  Plain,  where  she  resided  until  her 
death   in   1864.     One  who  knew  her  there  says  she  was  a 


Il8  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

leader  in  every  good  work,  and  a  woman  of  such  presence 
and  influence  as  is  rarely  to  be  found.  She  was  very  active 
during  the  period  of  the  Civil  War,  in  promoting  the  in- 
terests of  the  Sanitary  Commission  and  in  otherwise  lend- 
ing cheer  and  aid  to  the  soldiers. 

After  a  long  and  prosperous  ministry  of  thirty-eight  years, 
Mr.  White  passed  away  on  Sunday,  Feb.  i,  1852.  His  ill- 
ness was  very  brief,  for  he  was  in  the  pulpit  only  two  or 
three  weeks  before.  Three  days  later,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Lamson 
preached  a  funeral  discourse,  full  of  tender  recollections,  to 
a  very  large  congregation  in  the  meeting-house.  It  was  a 
noble  tribute  to  the  memory  of  his  friend.  *'  His  great  ser- 
mon was  his  life,"  said  the  preacher;  ''and  few,  if  any,  ever 
preached  a  better."  This  was  a  true  summing  up  of  the 
career  of  Mr.  White.  Nothing  more  or  better  could  be  said 
about  him,  because  this  was  the  highest  praise.  "  We  have 
had,"  says  Mr.  Sewall,  "like  knowledge  of  no  one  among 
his  contemporaries  in  the  ministry,  whose  record  was  more 
entirely  free  from  any  stain  of  worldly  ambition  or  of  un- 
faithfulness to  the  highest  ends  and  obligations  of  the  pas- 
toral relation.  His  uniform  singleness  of  purpose  and  ear- 
nestness of  endeavor  to  make  full  proof  of  his  ministry  in 
the  spiritual  health  and  prosperity  of  his  flock  were  happily 
productive  of  that  inward  peace  which  outlasts  all  human 
favor,  and  is  infinitely  better  than  all  human  applause.  His 
transparent  simplicity  and  sincerity,  the  calm  dignity  of  his 
bearing,  and  the  warmth  of  his  affections  made  him  a  favor- 
ite with  all  his  associates  in  the  ministry  and  among  his 
many  friends  in  all  the  relations  of  life." 

On  the  Saturday  following  Mr.  White's  death,  the  Chris- 
tian Register  paid  this  tribute  to  his  memory  :  "  Mr.  White 
was  esteemed  and  beloved  by  all  who  knew  him  as  a  true 
and  faithful  Christian  minister.  In  all  the  relations  of  life, 
he  was  a  man  of  duty  and  a  man  of  gentle  affections.  Many 
have  enjoyed  his  hospitality,  and  some  have  found  his  house, 
in  early  days,  when  under  his  care  as  a  teacher,  a  second 
home,  where  they  hardly  felt  the  want  of  parental  care  and 
tenderness.     Few    men    have    been    more    unostentatiously 


REV.    JOHN    WHITE,    THE    FOURTH    MINISTER  I  I9 

useful,  and  few  have  left  behind  them  a  memory  so  stainless 
and  of  so  much  substantial  worth.  Within  the  circle  in 
which  he  moved,  his  loss  will  be  deeply  felt.  .  .  .  He  was  a 
man  of  meekness  and  humility,  firm  in  his  convictions,  stead- 
fast in  his  purposes  and  affections,  bearing  himself  always 
with  a  dignity  and  grace  which  mark  the  character  of  the 
true  Christian  gentleman." 


X. 

THE   BAPTIST    SOCIETY. 

During  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  ideas 
and  principles  of  the  Baptist  denomination  were  accepted 
by  a  few  persons  in  Medfield.  In  1752,  seven  men  were 
exempted  from  paying  the  ministerial  tax,  because  they 
formed  a  branch  of  the  Baptist  society  in  Boston.  Their 
numbers  increased,  and  in  1772  they  were  able  to  build 
a  meeting-house.  The  church  was  formed  in  1776,  with 
twenty- eight  members  ;  and  the  Rev.  Thomas  Gair  was  set- 
tled as  the  pastor,  remaining  with  the  society  until  1787. 
A  period  of  twenty-three  years  followed,  in  which  the  so- 
ciety had  no  pastor,  the  pulpit  being  supplied.  In  1810, 
the  Rev.  William  Gammell  became  the  settled  pastor ;  and 
he  preached  on  alternate  Sundays  in  Medfield  and  West 
Dedham. 

Of  those  who  seceded  from  the  Clapboard  Trees  parish, 
only  one  man,  Benjamin  Colburn,  joined  the  church  in  Med- 
field ;  and  he  became  a  member  there  in  1809.  In  the  same 
year,  Lucy  Colburn,  Betsy  Baker,  and  Abagail  Colburn  be- 
came members  of  the  church;  and  in  18 10  their  number 
was  added  to  by  the  admission  of  Monica  Baker,  Molly  Ellis, 
and  Hannah  D.  Smith. 

The  account  of  the  formation  of  the  church  given  on  the 
first  pages  of  its  records,  already  quoted,  continues  the  nar- 
rative in  the  following  words  :  — 

The  ministry  of  Revd  Mr.  Pecking,  then  officiating  at  Medfield,  was 
blest  to  the  awakening  and  conversion  of  many  individuals.  An  atten- 
tion more  than  was  ever  known  before  in  this  place  was  excited,  so  that 
in  about  two  or  three  years  several  became  savingly  acquainted  with  the 
truth. 


THE    BAPTIST    SOCIETY  121 

Mr.  Pecking  not  continuing  in  Medfield  for  a  short  time  no  preach- 
ing was  had,  till  the  Revd  Mr.  Gammell  came,  in  whom  both  Medfield 
and  Dedham  was  united.  He  opened  the  present  meeting-house  on 
Thanksgiving  day,  November  i8,  1810,  and  continued  his  labors  in  the 
two  places  alternately  till  1823,  when  he  left  to  take  charge  of  the 
Baptist  church  in  Newport,  R.I.  Under  his  ministry  several  were 
added  to  the  church  in  Medfield,  a  number  of  whom  resided  in  Dedham 
and  other  places. 

After  his  removal  the  supply  of  preaching  was  very  irregular  till 
Revd  S.  Adlam  came,  who  preached  from  May  1824  every  alternate 
Sabbath,  with  little  intermission,  till  the  close  of  the  year,  when  preach- 
ing was  had  every  Sabbath.  For  several  reasons  it  was  thought  advisa- 
ble to  have  the  members  residing  in  and  near  Dedham  formed  into  a 
separate  church,  upon  which  a  council  was  called,  who  approved  it,  and 
after  forming  them  into  a  church,  ordained  and  installed  S.  Adlam  over 
them.  ... 

The  first  meeting  of  the  society  in  West  Dedham  was 
held  at  the  meeting-house  on  Monday,  March  15,  1824,  the 
meeting  having  been  called  by  a  justice  of  the  peace  at 
the  request  of  a  number  of  persons  made  to  him  for  that 
purpose.  Benjamin  Colburn  was  chosen  moderator,  and 
Abijah  Fisher  clerk.  The  name  of  "the  First  Baptist 
Society  in  Dedham "  was  that  given  in  the  call  for  the 
meeting,  and  it  became  the  name  of  the  society.  The 
following  persons  became  members  of  the  society  during 
the  year   1824:  — 

Benjamin  Colburn,  Elisha  Colburn, 

Abijah  Smith,  David  Baker, 

Phinehas  Colburn,  Elisha  Onion, 

Abijah  Colburn,  David  Baker, 

Ebenezer  Dean,  James  Pettee, 

Eliphalet  Colburn,  Isaacus  Colburn, 

Robert  Thompson,  Seth  Morse, 

Jabez  Boyden,  John  Morse, 

Moses  Everett,  Joel  Talbot, 

Abijah  Fisher,  Clement  Bartlett, 

Seth  Gay,  Robert  H.  Baker, 

Thacher  Colburn,  William  Perbeck, 

Timothy  Smith,  Warren  Colburn, 

Isaac  Colburn,  Nathaniel  Colburn, 

Jonathan  Colburn,  Dwight  Colburn, 

Ellis  Colburn,  Alvan  Colburn, 


122  THE    CLAPBOARD    TREES    PARISH 

Ichabod  Colburn,  Moses  Guild, 

Obed  Baker,  Calvin  French,  of  Needham, 

Willard  Draper,  Moses  Gay, 

Daniel  Draper,  Sabin  Turner. 

Andrew  Lewis, 

During  the  next  three  years,  the  following  persons  also 
became  members  :  — 

Parker  Wilson,  Joseph  Baker, 

Sumner  Richard,  Aaron  Baker, 

Enoch  Ellis,  Molly  Fisher, 

Ebenezer  Fisher,  Spencer  Fuller. 

The  number  of  those  interested  in  the  Baptist  church 
and  society  had  become  large  enough  by  the  year  1824  to 
warrant  the  formation  of  a  distinct  church.  The  following 
request,  signed  by  members  of  the  Medfield  church  resident 
in  West  Dedham  and  its  neighborhood,  was  accordingly 
prepared :  — 

To  the  Baptist  Church  in  Medfield, 

Beloved  Brethren :  Believing  the  time  is  come  in  which 
it  will  be  for  your  comfort  and  our  prosperity,  and  tend  to  the  promoting 
of  the  Redeemer's  cause,  that  we  be  constituted  into  a  church  by  the 
name  of  the  "  First  Baptist  Church  in  Dedham ;  "  we  hereby  request 
you  would  dismiss  us  who  have  hereunto  set  our  names  for  the  above 
purpose : 

Abijah  Fisher,  Deborah  Gay, 

Polly  Richards,  Betsy  Baker, 

Cynthia  Colburn,  Hannah  French, 

Fanny  Colburn,  Lucy  Mason, 

Benjamin  Colburn,  Molly  Fisher, 

Abagail  Colburn,  Fanny  Fisher, 

Monica  Baker,  Jabez  Boyden, 

Mary  Ellis,  Sally  Thompson, 

Molly  Russell,  Nancy  Everett, 

Hannah  Smith,  Rene  Morse, 

Betsy  Colburn,  Calvin  French, 

Lucy  Colburn,  Lucy  Colburn,  2d. 

Cynthia  Baker, 

This  request  was  granted  by  the  Medfield  church  ;  and  a 
meeting  of  those  asking  for  dismission  to  form  a  new  church 
was  held  Oct.  23,  1824,  when  Benjamin  Colburn  was  chosen 


THE    BAPTIST    SOCIETY  1 23 

moderator  and  Calvin  French  clerk.  Articles  of  faith  and 
a  covenant  were  adopted.  The  Rev.  Samuel  Adlam  was 
asked  to  take  oversight  of  the  church  and  to  receive  ordina- 
tion. A  council  of  churches  and  ministers  assembled  No- 
vember I,  and  formally  constituted  the  new  church  and 
received  it  into  fellowship.  At  the  same  time,  Mr.  Adlam 
was  ordained,  the  sermon  being  preached  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Wayland. 

In  1817,  Mrs.  Betsy  Baker,  wife  of  Obed  Baker,  and  a 
member  of  the  Medfield  church,  organized  in  her  own  house 
the  first  Sunday-school  held  in  the  town  of  Dedham.  After 
several  years,  it  met  in  the  meeting-house ;  but  there  was 
no  fire,  and  it  did  not  assemble  in  the  winter.  In  1819, 
the  number  of  children  was  thirty ;  and  the  attendance 
was  from  thirty  to  forty  for  many  years.  A  Sunday-school 
library  was  started  in  1826.  Mrs.  Baker  was  not  only  a 
woman  of  much  piety,  but  of  great  energy.  At  about  this 
time  she  had  a  desire  to  possess  a  leghorn  bonnet,  but  was 
not  able  to  procure  one.  She  plucked  straw  in  the  fields 
with  her  own  hands,  bleached  and  braided  it,  and  made  a 
bonnet  for  her  own  use.  She  made  bonnets  for  neighbors, 
improved  upon  the  first  attempt,  and  finally  led  the  way  to 
the  building  up  of  a  large  industry  in  Dedham  and  adjoining 
towns.  Another  member  of  the  church,  Miss  Molly  Fisher, 
built  a  parsonage  in  1824,  kept  it  in  repair  at  her  own  ex- 
pense, and  gave  it  by  will  to  the  society  on  her  death  in 

1837. 

The  church  received  large  accessions  to  its  membership 
in  1828,  and  again  in  1832:  in  the  former  year,  forty-one; 
and,  in  the  latter,  forty-four.  The  members  of  the  church 
residing  in  Needham  and  Dover  withdrew  in  1838,  to  form 
a  separate  church.  In  1843  the  church  dismissed  sixteen 
of  its  members  to  form  the  Baptist  church  of  East  Ded- 
ham, and  in  1858  it  dismissed  others  to  constitute  the 
Baptist  church  of  South  Dedham  (Norwood). 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Adlam  remained  with  the  church  until 
1827,  when  he  was  succeeded  Jan.  3,  1828,  by  the  Rev. 
Jonathan  Aldrich,  who  remained  until  Feb.  27,  1830.     Since 


124  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

that  time,  the  succession  of  ministers  has  been  as  follows  : 
the  Rev.  Thomas  Driver,  May,  1830,  to  the  autumn 'of  i83'8  ; 
the  Rev.  T.  G.  Freeman,  from  the  spring  of  1839  to  April, 
1 841  ;  the  Rev.  Joseph  B.  Damon,  from  Oct.  13,  1841,  to 
October,  1843  ;  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Parkhurst,  from  October, 
1843,  to  Nov.  24,  1850;  the  Rev.  Jeremiah  Chaplain,  from 
Nov.  24,  1850,  to  Sept.  6,  1858;  the  Rev.  Benjamin  W. 
Gardner,  from  Nov.  11,  1858,  to  Nov.  i,  1867;  the  Rev. 
I.  J.  Burgess,  from  Nov.  i,  1867,  to  Sept.  9,  1871  ;  the  Rev. 
Samuel  J.  Frost,  from  Sept.  15,  1872,  to  April  26,  1874;  the 
Rev.  S.  C.  Chandler,  from  Sept.  6,  1874,  to  Jan.  20,  1878  ; 
the  Rev.  T.  M.  Merriman,  from  April  6,  1879,  to  May  6, 
1883  ;  the  Rev.  E.  S.  Ufford,  from  June  28,  1883,  to  Octo- 
ber, 1886;  the  Rev.  O.  P.  Bessie,  from  November,  1886,  to 
the  present  time. 

With  the  exception  of  one  or  two  years  when  first  organ- 
ized, the  society  has  raised  all  moneys  by  subscription  and 
by  the  renting  of  pews.  In  1832,  a  vestry  was  built,  which 
was  enlarged  a  few  years  later.  Land  was  bought  in  1842 
for  enlarging  the  meeting-house  yard.  In  the  latter  year, 
the  church  passed  strong  resolutions  condemning  slavery, 
and  pledging  the  church  to  oppose  it  in  every  manner 
possible.  The  meeting-house  was  enlarged  and  repaired  in 
1834,  at  a  cost  of  ^1,403.73.  In  1846,  alterations  were  made 
in  the  galleries,  and  new  pews  built.  The  pew-owners,  in 
1852,  sold  their  pews  to  the  society  at  a  nominal  sum;  and 
since  then  they  have  been  rented  annually.  During  this 
year,  the  meeting-house  was  painted,  frescoed,  and  repaired, 
at  a  cost  of  $1,144.73  5  ^-^^^  repairs  were  also  made  in  1858 
and  in  1868.  In  1873,  a  new  bell  was  procured;  at  an  ex- 
pense of  $649.70,  which  was  obtained  by  the  sale  of  the  old 
bell  and  by  subscriptions. 

There  was  a  brief  period  of  trouble  in  the  society  in 
1843,  concerning  the  dismissal  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Damon; 
but,  with  this  exception,  the  society  and  church  have  been 
harmonious  and  successful  almost  without  interruption  since 
their  formation. 


XL 

THK   PARISH    IN    RECENT   YJOARS. 

Beginning  with  the  year  1814,  when  Mr.  White  was  set- 
tled, the  Hfe  of  the  Clapboard  Trees  parish  was  harmonious 
and  peaceful.  From  that  time  to  this,  it  has  quietly  pur- 
sued its  way  ;  and  little  has  occurred  in  it  that  needs  to  be 
recorded.  The  population  within  the  limits  of  the  old  terri- 
torial parish  has  probably  never  much  exceeded  five  hundred 
persons,  and  farming  has  been  the  chief  industry.  During 
the  first  half  of  the  century,  a  few  small  mechanical  indus- 
tries were  carried  on  within  the  limits  of  the  parish.  Since 
then,  two  or  three  store-keepers  and  a  dozen  mechanics 
have  found  employment.  The  building  of  the  Boston  and 
Providence  Railroad  to  the  centre  of  the  town,  and  the  New 
York  and  New  England  Railroad  through  South  Dedham, 
took  away  most  of  the  mechanical  industries  of  the  village 
and  many  of  its  most  enterprising  citizens.  The  parish  has 
become  more  strictly  a  farming  community  since  then.  Its 
business  has  lessened,  and  its  population  has  not  increased. 
Those  families  who  gave  life  to  the  parish  during  the  first 
half  of  the  century  have  gradually  disappeared  or  lessened 
in  numbers,  and  there  has  been  a  gradual  decrease  in 
church  attendance. 

In  1 8 14,  the  parish  had  $450  loaned  on  land  securities, 
and  notes  of  hand,  signed  by  the  original  subscribers,  to  the 
amount  of  ^1,482.  This  year  it  was  "Voted,  to  ring  the 
bell  fifteen  minutes,  stop  five  minutes,  and  then  toll  ;  under- 
taken by  Mr.  Moses  Kingsbury  at  $9.87  1-2."  The  roads 
through  the  meeting-house  yard  were  built  by  the  voluntary 
labors  of  the  members  of  the  parish.  The  farm  of  Mr. 
Thacher  was  rented  at  a  vendue  ;  and  the  parish  paid  for 
the  rum  and  sugar  furnished  to  the  bidders  and  spectators 
on  that  occasion. 


126 


THE    CLAPBOARD    TREES    PARISH 


The  collecting'  of  the  taxes  at  this  period  was  given  to 
the  lowest  bidder.  The  pews  were  rented  for  the  year 
to  the  highest  bidder.  In  1816,  the  choir  was  paid  $20, 
to  be  expended  for  its  own  benefit.  A  sum  varying  from 
$20  to  $40  was  paid  to  it  for  many  years.  In  181 7,  it  was 
''Voted,  to  put  the  ringing  of  the  bell,  taking  care  of  the 
meeting-house,  to  the  lowest  bidder,  the  house  to  be  swept 
once  in  six  weeks,  and  the  stay  to  be  taken  off  the  bell  in  six 
weeks;  undertaken  by  Jason  Gay  for  $6.87."  During  this 
year,  a  social  library  was  started  in  the  parish. 

In   1795,  the  last  entry  was 
,^-"n^^x->...  made  on  the  parish  records  of 

the  moneys  received  from  the 
town  for  school  purposes.  At 
about  this  time,  the  town  was 
divided  into  school  districts ; 
and  the  money  went  directly  to 
these  instead  of  to  the  parish. 
The  number  of  schools  con- 
tinued the  same,  but  the  local- 
ities of  the  school-houses  were 
somewhat  changed.  In  the 
early  part  of  the  present  cen- 
tury, the  north  school,  or  that 
in  West  Dedham  village,  was 
located  opposite  the  house  re- 
cently occupied  by  Erastus  E. 
Gay.  Later  on,  a  house  was 
built  farther  south,  which  was 
replaced  on  the  same  site  by 
the  Colburn  School  in  1874,  at  a  cost  of  $12,000. 

During  the  present  century,  the  parish  has  had  a  number 
of  its  young  men  graduate  at  colleges.  The  best  known  of 
these  is  Warren  Colburn,  the  author  of  Elements  of  Intel- 
lectual Arithnieticy  even  now  one  of  the  most  widely  cir- 
culated of  text-books.  It  has  been  translated  into  many 
languages  and  sold  extensively.  He  was  born  at  Pond 
Plain,   March    i,    1793,   the  son  of  Richard  and  Joana  Col- 


THE    PARISH    IN    RECENT    YEARS  12/ 

burn.  The  family  afterward  lived  for  six  years  at  the  Clap- 
board Trees,  then  removed  to  Lowell,  where  Warren  became 
a  machinist.  He  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1820, 
and  the  following  year  he  published  his  Intellectual  AritJi- 
1)1  die.  He  was  for  several  years  the  superintendent  of 
schools  in  Lowell.  His  death  occurred  Sept.  13,  1833, 
when  he  was  forty  years  of  age. 

Dana  P.  Colburn  was  born  in  the  parish  Sept.  29,  1823, 
graduated  at  the  Bridgewater  Normal  School,  and  in  1854 
became  the  principal  of  the  Rhode  Island  Normal  School, 
which  position  he  held  until  his  death  in  1859.  ^^'^  ^"c- 
mains  repose  in  the  parish  burial-ground.  He  was  the 
author  of  various  works  on  arithmetic,  which  would  have 
had  a  wide  and  increasing  circulation  had  the  author  lived. 

Reuben  A.  Guild,  the  son  of  Deacon  Reuben  Guild,  was 
born  May  4,  1822,  and  graduated  at  Brown  University  in 
1847.  Immediately  after  graduation  he  became  the  assist- 
ant librarian  at  Brown  University,  and  in  1848  librarian, 
which  position  he  now  holds,  after  forty  years  of  continuous 
service.  He  has  written  much  for  the  newspapers  and  mag- 
azines, and  is  the  author  of  the  Librarian! s  Manual,  1858  ; 
Life,  Times,  and  Correspondence  of  fames  Manning,  First 
President  of  Brozvn  University,  1 864 ;  History  of  Broivn 
U?iiversity,  1867;  A  Chaplain  of  the  Revolntion,  1886.  He 
is  now  engaged  upon  a  work  entitled  Life  and  Writings  of 
Roger  Williams,  the  Founder  of  Rhode  Island,  which  will  be 
published  in  1888. 

John  Richards  and  George  Ellis  were  elected  deacons 
June  7,  1 8 10.  John  Richards,  the  son  of  John  and  Rebecca 
Richards,  was  born  Jan.  24,  1755,  and  died  June  11,  1841. 
He  lived  near  Walpole  Corner,  where  he  was  a  farmer.  He 
gave  a  considerable  sum  of  money  to  the  parish  at  his  de- 
cease. George  Ellis  was  born  March  19,  1762,  the  son  of 
Jonathan  and  Mary  Ellis.  His  farm  was  at  the  south  end 
of  Pond  Plain,  and  is  now  owned  by  Mr.  Samuel  F.  Allen. 
He  was  a  general  of  militia,  and  also  an  influential  citizen. 
He  died  Jan.  26,  1849. 

These    men    were    succeeded,    about    the   year    1840,    by 


128  THE    CLAPBOARD    TREES    PARISH 

Reuben  Guild,  who  was  born  in  the  south  parish  Sept.  20, 
1793.  He  settled  in  West  Dedham  village  in  18 16,  when 
he  bought  the  house  and  land  since  known  as  "  the  Guild 
place."  He  was  for  many  years  a  blacksmith  and  carriage 
builder,  and  he  also  ran  a  line  of  stages  to  Dedham  village. 
A  Sunday-school  was  started  by  Mr.  White  about  1826,  with 
a  library.  Deacon  Guild  was  the  superintendent  for  many 
years.  In  1877,  he  joined  the  Baptist  church;  and  he  died 
in  1882.     He  has  had  no  successor  in  the  deacon's  office. 

Only  two  physicians  have  resided  in  the  parish  since  its 
formation.  The  second  of  these  was  Dr.  Francis  Howe, 
who  was  born  in  Framingham,  Sept.  26,  1787,  moved  to  the 
parish  in  June,  18 14,  married  Lucy  Gay  in  18 18,  and  died 
May  18,  1859.  Fc»r  forty-five  years,  he  was  successful  in  his 
profession,  and  was  a  useful  and  respected  member  of  the 
parish. 

About  the  middle  of  the  last  century  a  tavern  was  built 
in  West  Dedham.  It  was  located  on  what  is  now  High 
Street,  which  was  then  or  somewhat  later  the  line  of  the 
Boston  and  Hartford  stage.  It  was  also  patronized  by  the 
farmers,  who  carried  their  produce  to  market  in  Boston  from 
the  towns  farther  south.  From  about  1760,  it  was  kept  for 
many  years  by  Abner  Ellis,  the  son  of  Deacon  Joseph  Ellis. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Col.  Abner  Ellis,  his  son,  who  was 
born  Jan.  4,  1770,  and  who  died  Dec.  14,  1844.  He  was  a 
representative  to  the  General  Court  in  1814-15,  and  again 
in  1823.  His  daughter  Mary  married  Theodore  Gay,  by 
whom  he  was  succeeded.  Opposite  the  tavern  was  the 
training-ground,  where  the  militia  met  for  their  drills  and 
reviews  previous  to  1840,  when  training-day  was  abolished. 
This  was  for  a  long  period  the  scene  of  an  annual  merry- 
making, which  attracted  a  large  number  of  people.  The 
numerous  military  titles  which  appear  in  the  history  of  the 
parish  attest  to  the  interest  which  was  taken  in  its  military 
organizations,  which  seem  to  have  been  kept  up  with  skill 
and  promptitude. 

The  parish  clerk  in  1841-42  was  Theodore  Gay,  who  suc- 
ceeded Col.  Abner  Ellis  as   the  tavern-keeper.     When    the 


THE  PARISH  IN  RECENT  YEARS  1 29 

West  Dedham  post-office  was  established  in  1824,  he 
became  the  postmaster,  which  office  he  held  until  1879, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  Charles  H.  Ellis.  After  the 
railroads  had  taken  away  the  stage  routes,  the  tavern  was 
given  up,  and  a  grocery  store  was  kept  in  the  same  building, 
which  was  burned  in  the  spring  of  1887.  Mr.  Gay  was  a 
colonel  of  militia,  and  he  was  long  familiarly  known  as 
"Colonel  Thody."  He  died  in  1881,  in  his  eighty-eighth 
year.  Lusher  Gay  was  parish  clerk  from  1843  to  1848, 
Charles  Ellis  in  1849,  and  Merrill  D.  Ellis  from  1850  to 
1872.  The  latter  was  a  representative  from  1841  to  1843, 
and  he  was  a  selectman  for  many  years.  John  D.  Whiting 
was  parish  clerk  from  1873  to  1879,  ^.nd  Erastus  E.  Gay 
from  1880  to  his  death  in  1887.  In  July,  1887,  George 
Albert  French  was  elected  to  the  office.  Joseph  Fisher 
was  the  treasurer  of  the  parish  from  1846  to  1876,  and  he 
was  for  many  years  a  very  liberal  contributor  to  its  financial 
support.  He  took  a  zealous  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the 
parish,  contributed  liberally  for  repairing  the  meeting-house, 
paid  the  deficit  on  the  new  organ,  and  did  much  else  to  keep 
the  parish  in  a  successful  condition.  Erastus  E.  Gay  also 
took  a  devoted  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  parish,  and 
contributed  most  liberally  of  his  money  and  time  in  its 
behalf. 

At  the  March  meeting  in  1804,  a  committee  was  selected 
to  build  a  hearse,  and  a  suitable  house  in  which  it  might  be 
kept.  In  that  year,  George  Ellis  was  paid  ^40  for  building  a 
hearse-house,  Eliphalet  Baker  giving  the  land  on  which  it  was 
built,  Benjamin  Fisher  $61  for  a  hearse  and  harness,  and 
Aaron  Baker  $1  for  a  lock  and  fixing  the  same  to  the  bury- 
ing-ground  gate.  In  1805,  Aaron  Baker  was  paid  $3  for  a 
bier  for  the  use  of  the  parish.  In  181 3,  a  committee  was 
appointed  to  see  about  the  enlargement  of  the  burying- 
ground,  and  to  invite  the  Baptist  society  to  aid  in  so  doing. 
The  treasurer's  accounts  do  not  afford  any  evidence  that 
land  was  purchased  at  this  time,  and  yet  it  may  have  been 
bought  by  a  general  subscription.  In  1820,  however,  land 
was  bought  of  Sabin  Baker,  to  enlarge  it  to  the  south,  for 


130  THE    CLAPBOARD    TREES    PARISH 

which  he  was  paid  ^13.  In  1837,  a  committee  was  appointed 
to  confer  with  the  other  society  with  reference  to  building 
a  tomb  in  the  burying-gromid.  In  1859,  ^^^  ^^o  societies 
joined  in  repairing  the  hearse  and  the  public  tomb.  Addi- 
tions of  land  were  made  by  purchase  in  1843  and  in  i860. 
The  two  parishes  held  a  fair  in  1843,  and  the  proceeds  were 
devoted  to  fencing  the  cemetery.  The  whole  sum  expended 
at  this  time  was  about  $1,100.  A  piece  of  land  to  the  east 
was  purchased,  and  the  grounds  were  greatly  improved. 

In  1 82 1,  a  committee,  consisting  of  George  Ellis,  Col. 
Abner  Ellis,  and  Lusher  Gay,  was  appointed  for  the  purpose 
of  giving  certificates  agreeable  to  the  act  of  the  Common- 
wealth respecting  worship  and  religious  freedom,  passed 
June  18,  181 1.  This  act  of  1811  was  a  practical  breaking 
down  of  the  old  parish  system  of  church  administration,  and 
permitted  people  to  pay  freely  for  that  kind  of  religion  which 
they  preferred.  The  old  method  of  taxation  for  church  sup- 
port was  continued,  but  it  gradually  grew  less  efficient  until 
it  was  abolished.  Under  this  act,  a  person  wishing  to  change 
his  tax  from  one  church  to  another  had  simply  to  state  his 
purpose  in  writing  to  the  clerk  of  the  parish  with  w'liich  he 
had  been  connected. 

About  $300  to  $350  were  raised  at  this  time  each  year, 
for  paying  the  minister  and  for  the  contingent  expenses  of 
the  parish.  The  receipts  from,  pew-rents  were  about  $150 
annually.  In  1826,  this  vote  was  passed:  "  Voted,  that  an 
organ  be  admitted  into  the  meeting-house,  on  condition  that 
it  shall  be  taken  out  before  it  becomes  any  expense  to  the 
parish,  and  the  meeting-house  put  in  repair."  The  parish 
records  afford  no  evidence  that  an  organ  was  procured  at 
this  time.  The  same  year  a  committee  was  appointed  to 
report  on  the  utility  and  expense  of  lowering  the  pulpit ; 
and  the  next  year  the  committee  was  given  the  right  to 
lower  it,  if  the  expense  did  not  exceed  $25. 

In  1828,  the  changing  of  the  psalm-books  was  referred  to 
a  committee  of  nine,  who  reported  that  it  was  inexpedient. 
The  following  was  passed  at  the  parish  meeting:  ''Voted, 
that  the  people  of  color  have  the  southeast  pew  in  the  gal- 


THE    PARISH    IN    RECENT    YEARS  I3I 

lery,"  which  was  tlie  one  nearest  the  door  and  the  farthest 
from   the  pulpit. 

The  parish  committee,  in  1829,  was  instructed  to  inform 
the  town  that  the  mccting-house  could  be  had  for  town  meet- 
ings when  it  was  desired  for  that  purpose.  For  a  number  of 
years,  the  town  meeting  went  about  to  the  different  par- 
ishes ;  and  it  was  several  times  held  in  the  Clapboard  Trees 
meeting-house.  In  1830,  a  committee  of  seven  was  chosen 
to  spend  $25  in  lowering  the  pulpit,  that  work  not  having 
been  done  in  1826.  The  sum  paid  for  the  care  of  the  meet- 
ing-house had  gradually  risen  to  $16  in  1831,  which  was  the 
amount  paid  for  several  succeeding  years. 

On  the  first  Wednesday  in  June,  1831,  the  Female  Benev- 
olent Society  was  organized,  with  eighty  members.  The 
meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  Mr.  White ;  and  Mrs. 
White  was  made  the  president,  an  office  which  she  held  con- 
tinuously for  twenty-six  years.  This  society  was  organized 
to  advance  the  general  welfare  of  the  parish,  to  promote 
its  social  life,  and  to  facilitate  and  increase  its  benevolent 
work.  It  has  since  that  time  been  the  most  active  organ- 
ization connected  with  the  parish,  and  it  has  contributed 
more  money  than  any  other  for  advancing  parish  inter- 
ests. During  the  first  fifty  years  of  its  existence,  it  raised 
$3,581.54,  which  it  spent  as  follows:  for  the  help  of  the  poor 
and  as  gifts  to  individuals,  $1,122.34;  for  the  repairing  of 
the  meeting-house,  $^'j'j.6^]  for  the  parish  library,  $452.76; 
for  the  purchase  of  an  organ,  $811.70;  for  the  improvement 
of  the  cemetery,  $617.06.  Since  1881,  this  society  has  con- 
tributed $409.63  towards  the  repairing  of  the  church  ;  and  it 
has  provided  the  meeting-house  with  new  cushions  at  an 
expense  of  about  $150.  To  the  building  of  the  parsonage  in 
1885,  the  society  contributed  $200.  In  1881,  the  society 
celebrated  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  its  organization  with  a 
meeting  in  Colburn  Hall,  when  the  Rev.  C.  S.  Locke  gave  an 
historical  address.  He  said  :  "  Much  of  the  success  of  the 
society  was  due  to  Mrs.  White's  energy  and  organizing 
and  executive  ability.  The  first  vice-president  was  Mrs. 
Polly   Gay,   and   the   first    treasurer   Miss    Mary   Ellis,   who 


132  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

was  married  to  Mr.  Theodore  Gay  in  1833,  and,  under  the 
name  of  Mary  E.  Gay,  continued  as  treasurer  till  1869,  hold- 
ing the  office  thirty-eight  years.  The  presidents  after  Mrs. 
White  have  been  Mrs.  Anne  Locke,  Mrs.  Lucy  Howe,  Mrs. 
L.  P.  K.  Gifford,  Miss  M.  E.  Pettee,  Mrs.  Crowninshield, 
Mrs.  Mary  E.  Fisher,  Mrs.  Lucy  N.  Cooke,  and  Mrs.  George 
Fisher ;  and  the  vice-presidents  since  Mrs.  Gay  have  been 
Miss  Sally  Gay,  Mrs.  Susan  D.  Ellis,  Mrs.  Lucy  Howe,  Mrs. 
Mary  E.  Fisher,  Miss  Pettee,  Miss  Howe,  Mrs.  F.  Copeland, 
Mrs.  Charles  French,  and  Mrs.  Albert  Gay ;  and  the  treas- 
urers who  have  succeeded  Mrs.  Gay  are  Mrs.  Caroline  Ellis, 
Mrs.  George  Fisher,  Miss  Caroline  Howe,  and  Mrs.  William 
Colburn.  The  society  was  reorganized  in  1869  [when  it 
became  the  Ladies'  Benevolent  Society],  and  it  adopted  a 
constitution  and  by-laws.  Since  that  time,  Mrs.  Fannie 
Draper  has  been  the  secretary." 

In  1833,  the  Hon.  Joshua  Fisher,  of  Beverly,  who  was 
born  in  the  parish,  left  the  sum  of  ^3,000  in  his  will,  to  be 
added  to  the  ministerial  fund.  In  1836,  the  value  of  this 
fund  was  ^5,252.82.  This  so  far  increased  the  receipts  of 
the  parish  that  for  many  years  the  sum  raised  for  ministe- 
rial and  contingent  expenses  was  only  $175.  In  1838,  the 
parish  passed  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  unknown  donor  of  a 
new  bell,  who  subsequently  proved  to  be  Deacon  John  Rich- 
ards. In  1839,  Calvin  F.  Ellis,  Rev.  John  White,  Colburn 
Ellis,  Richard  Ellis,  and  Doctor  Francis  Howe  were  a  com- 
mittee to  procure  one  hundred  and  fifty  psalm  books,  two 
to  be  put  in  each  pew  below,  one  in  each  pew  in  the  gallery, 
and  the  rest  to  be  reserved  for  the  use  of  the  singers.  The 
book  selected  was  Greenwood's  Collection  of  Hymns. 

In  1853,  the  Rev.  Francis  LeBaron  was  invited  to  become 
the  pastor  of  the  society;  but  he  declined.  In  July,  1854, 
the  Rev.  Richard  Metcalf,  of  Providence,  received  a  call 
to  the  vacant  pastorate ;  but  he  also  declined.  The  Rev. 
Calvin  S.  Locke  was  invited  in  October ;  and  December  6  he 
began  his  connection  with  the  parish,  receiving  ordination 
on  that  day.  The  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  Oliver 
Stearns,  of  Hingham;  and  the  Rev.  Dr.   Morison,  the  Rev. 


THE    PARISH    IN    RFXENT    YEARS  •  1 33 

Dr.  Lamson,  and  the  Rev,  F.  D.  Huntington  took  part  in 
the  service.  During  this  pastorate,  the  custom  of  giving  the 
minister  a  vacation  in  the  summer  began,  Mr.  Locke  having 
made  a  request  for  it  in  his  letter  of  acceptance. 

In  1855,  the  meeting-house  was  repaired  by  subscription, 
and  at  an  expense  of  ^1,230.30.  The  committee  having 
charge  of  the  repairs  consisted  of  Colburn  Ellis,  Joseph 
Crane,  Lusher  G.  Baker,  Tyler  Thayer,  and  Caleb  Ellis. 
"The  floor  was  raised,"  says  Mr.  Locke ;  "a  lower  and  more 
elegant  pulpit  was  substituted  for  the  old  one,  and  the  scat- 
tered, uncomfortable,  and  uncomely  pews  were  exchanged 
for  the  concentric  seats,  which  both  bring  the  members  of 
the  congregation  nearer  one  another  and  face  to  face  with 
the  minister ;  the  bare  walls  and  ceilings  were  handsomely 
frescoed ;  and  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  these  repairs  were 
accomplished  without  the  alienation  of  a  single  member, 
and  that  they  gave  general  satisfaction.  The  Ladies'  Benev- 
olent Society  carpeted,  cushioned,  and  otherwise  furnished 
the  church,  at  an  expense  of  $S77-^^-  At  the  same  time, 
Hymns  for  ChnrcJi  of  Christ  was  substituted  for  Greenwood's 
collection."  While  the  church  was  being  repaired,  the  meet- 
ings for  worship  were  held  in  Nahatan  Hall,  which  was  in  a 
house  situated  a  little  west  of  the  meeting-house,  and  for 
many  years  used  as  a  parsonage.  This  was  through  all  the 
middle  period  of  the  century,  and  probably  from  early  in  the 
century,  the  principal  social  gathering  place  of  the  parish. 
It  was  burned  in  1879.  Mr.  Locke  says  of  this  house  and 
hall :  "  This  house  formerly  stood  on  the  south  side  of 
Nahatan  Street,  and  was  reached  by  a  lane  from  Clapboard- 
Trees  Street.  Nahatan  Hall  was  connected  with  it,  and  was 
used  without  charge  by  the  owner  for  the  fairs,  social  gath- 
erings, and  ladies'  meetings  of  the  parish.  It  is  a  legend 
about  this  house  that  Moll  Pitcher,  an  uncanny  woman  from 
Lynn,  once  stopped  at  it,  and  asked  for  a  drink  of  cider. 
Being  refused,  she  said,  'Your  neck  will  snap  like  this,'  at 
the  same  time  breaking  the  stem  of  her  clay  pipe.  Shortly 
after,  the  man  fell  and  broke  his  neck.  It  was  also  pre- 
dicted that  the  house  would  be  destroyed  by  fire."     In  1857, 


134  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

the  organ  which  had  been  used  in  the  first  parish  meeting- 
house since  1821  was  purchased,  and  was  opened  on  July  12. 

Mr.  Locke  severed  his  connection  with  the  parish  June 
20,  1864.  During  and  since  his  pastorate,  Mr.  Locke 
preached  and  published  the  following  sermons,  which  have 
an  intimate  connection  with  the  history  of  the  parish  :  on 
the  death  of  Mrs.  Olive  Morse  Guild  (wife  of  Deacon 
Guild),  1858;  ''The  Patriotic  Volunteer,"  at  the  funeral  of 
George  P".  Whiting,  1862;  on  the  death  of  Newell  Fisher, 
1862;  "Other  Men  have  Labored,"  a  history  of  the  parish, 
preached  after  the  burning  of  the  church  records,  1879. 

At  the  beginning  of  his  ministry,  Mr.  Locke  bought  the 
house  once  owned  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Thacher.  He  fol- 
lowed in  the  ways  of  his  predecessors,  and  took  boys  into 
his  house  to  prepare  them  for  college.  After  his  resigna- 
tion, he  established  a  boarding  and  day  school  in  his  house. 

Li  1865,  the  old  parish  territorial  organization  having 
entirely  disappeared,  it  became  desirable  to  know  who  were 
the  members  of  the  parish.  A  very  brief  paper  was  drawn 
up,  entered  on  the  clerk's  records,  and  those  wishing  to  act 
with  the  parish  signed  their  names  to  it.  This  statement 
here  follows,  together  with  the  names  of  those  who  have 
signed  it :  — 

We,  the  subscribers  of  the  third  parish  in  Dedham,  hereby  declare 
ourselves  to  be  members  of  said  parish. 

Joseph  Fisher,  Caleb  ElHs, 

James  Pettee,  Calvin  S.  Locke, 

Edward  Sumner,  J.  W.  Gay, 

Sam,  F.  Allen,  Warren  Covell, 

Henry  L.  Pettee,  John  E.  Whiting, 

F.  Copeland,  Charles  French, 

Moses  Kingsbury,  George  D.  Draper, 

Caleb  Smith,  Daniel  W.  Parker, 

Reuben  Hunting,  Reuben  Guild, 

John  D.  Ellis,  Nathan  Phillips, 

Rufus  French,  Theodore  Gay, 

John  C.  Nash,  Francis  W.  Baker, 

Samuel  Cheney,  Merrill  D.  Ellis, 

Joseph  Crane,  Erastus  E.  Gay, 

Joshua  Fisher,  James  A.  Gay, 


THE  PARISH  IN  RECENT  YEARS  1 35 

Ellis  Gay,  Hattie  S.  Fisher, 

George  M.  French,  Mrs.  Albert  Gay, 

Asa  Fisher,  '  Mrs.  H.  Gay, 

William  Colburn,  Mrs.  Percy  Tisdale, 

Jabez  Fisher,  Maria  Pettee, 

John  Morgan,  Harriet  Pettee, 

G.  A.  French,  Mrs.  Geo.  French, 

B.  F.  White,  Henrietta  L.  French, 

Mary  E.  Fisher,  Jas.  M.  Ellis, 

Mrs.  B.  F.  White,  Percy  E.  Tisdale. 

The  parish  came  into  possession,  in  1865,  of  $11,000,  left 
to  it  in  the  will  of  Lusher  Gay,  who  was  born  Aug.  28, 
1803,  arid  who  died  June  15,  1855.  He  had  been  a  life-long 
member  of  the  congregation,  and  greatly  interested  in  its 
affairs. 

The  Rev.  A.  W.  Stevens  was,  in  1865,  invited  to  become 
the  pastor;  but  he  declined.  From  May,  1866,  to  May,  1867, 
the  pulpit  was  supplied  by  the  Rev.  Henry  Westcott,  who 
was  born  in  the  town  of  Warwick,  R.I.,  in  1831,  graduated 
at  Brown  University,  studied  theology  at  Cambridge,  and 
was  settled  at  Barre  in  i860.  In  1867,  he  was  settled  at 
Lexington,  where  he  remained  fourteen  years.  In  1881,  he 
removed  to  Melrose,  and  preached  to  that  and  the  Maiden 
parishes  until  his  death,  July  14,  1883.  In  1884,  a  volume 
containing  fourteen  of  his  sermons,  a  brief  biographical 
sketch,  and  the  funeral  tributes,  was  edited  and  privately 
published  by  his  wife. 

In  1866,  the  parish  library  was  formed.  In  1870,  it  was 
made  an  adjunct  of  the  parish,  and  officers  were  chosen  at 
the  parish  meeting.  Warren  Covell  was  elected  trustee,  and 
John  Whiting  librarian.  An  excellent  collection  of  valuable 
books  was  secured,  which  was  much  used  until  a  branch  of 
the  public  library  was  established. 

The  Rev.  Elisha  Gifford  became  the  pastor  in  1867,  begin- 
ning his  connection  with  the  parish  on  the  third  Sunday  of 
September.  In  1869  occurred  the  first  break  in  the  order  of 
two  services,  morning  and  afternoon.  At  the  parish  meet- 
ing, it  was  voted  that  the  services  should  be  held  at  10.30 
A.M.  and  2  P.M.,  except  in  July  and  August,  when  there 


1^6  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

should  be  a  service  in  the  morning  only,  with  three  Sundays 
in  August  and  one  in  the  winter  for  vacation.  In  1870,  it 
was  voted  to  have  no  service  the  first  two  Sundays  of  August, 
no  afternoon  service  in  July  and  August,  and  the  parish  com- 
mittee was  authorized  to  dispense  with  the  afternoon  service 
on  stormy  days.  In  a  year  or  two  more,  the  afternoon  ser- 
vice was  discontinued.  Mr.  Gifford  gave  up  his  connection 
with  the  parish  June  15,  1872. 

At  about  this  time,  the  church  ordinances  were  discon- 
tinued, and  the  church  ceased  to  exist.  Probably  from  1865, 
when  the  parish  was  reorganized,  it  became  the  sole  per- 
petuator  of  the  life  of  the  old  church  and  parish. 

Jan.  I,  1873,  the  Rev.  Edward  Crowninshield  became  the 
pastor.  In  1877,  a  new  organ  was  procured,  which  was  paid 
for  by  the  sale  of  the  old  one,  a  contribution  of  ^811.70 
by  the  Ladies'  Benevolent  Society,  and  about  ^200  given  by 
Joseph  Fisher.  In  June,  1879,  the  house  which  had  been 
used  for  many  years  as  a  minister's  house,  owned  by  Joseph 
Fisher,  was  burned.  It  accidentally  caught  fire  on  the 
morning  Mr.  Crowninshield  had  expected  to  remove  from 
it,  and  many  of  his  goods  were  burned, 

Mr.  Crowninshield  was  born  in  Marblehead  in  1840.  His 
opportunities  for  an  education  were  limited,  and  he  worked 
for  some  years  as  a  shoemaker.  He  took  the  course  at  the 
Harvard  Divinity  School,  and  was  settled  at  Exeter,  N.H., 
where  he  remained  for  only  about  one  year.  In  1879,  he 
went  from  West  Dedham  to  Belfast,  Me.,  where  he  remained 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  Feb.  6,  1883.  In  a  notice  of 
him,  his  classmate,  the  Rev.  N.  P.  Oilman,  said :  — 

Mr.  Crowninshield's  character  was  so  admirably  simple,  duplicity, 
doubleness  of  any  kind,  was  so  foreign  to  him,  that  fuller  knowledge  only 
confirmed  the  first  strong  impression  of  liking  and  respect  which  he 
invariably  made.  .  .  . 

Neither  a  prophet  nor  the  son  of  a  prophet,  by  circumstances  he  was 
a  prophetic  soul,  a  born  preacher  of  righteousness.  With  an  aristocratic 
name,  he  was  a  son  of  the  people,  and  honored  the  name,  more  than 
fortune  or  rank  could  have  done,  by  exalted  character  and  rich  devotion 
to  the  kingdom  of  God.  Of  that  kingdom  he  had  the  strenuous  and 
radical  conceptions  which  hardly  fail  those  who  fight  their  way  to  light. 
His  manly  living  justified  his  creed. 


THE  PARISH  IN  RECENT  YEARS  1 37 

Among  Mr.  Crovvninshield's  intimate  friends  were  the 
Rev.  W.  C.  Gannett  and  the  Rev.  John  W.  Chadwick.  The 
former  wrote  many  pages  of  his  admirable  biography  of  his 
father  while  staying  at  the  Clapboard  Trees  parsonage.  In 
the  Christian  Register,  Mr.  Chadwick  paid  this  tribute  to 
the  memory  of  his  friend  :  — 

A  sudden  cold  had  fastened  on  some  seat  of  chronic  ailment.  Then 
there  was  general  implication  of  the  whole  system,  and  at  the  last  some 
days  of  fiery  pain.  Desiring  almost  passionately  to  recover  for  the  sake 
of  his  family,  so  dependent  on  his  support  and  sympathy,  and  that  he 
might  carry  on  his  work,  he  was  nevertheless  able  to  cope  with  the 
inevitable  event  with  a  courageous  heart.  .  .  . 

He  was  setUed  first  in  Exeter,  N.H.;  and  his  hopes  were  high,  and 
all  omens  seemed  auspicious.  .  .  .  West  Dedham  was  his  Wartburg, 
his  Arabia,  his  quiet  place  for  gathering  up  his  strength  and  clearing  his 
self-consciousness.  His  house  and  church  were  near  together  on  such 
a  heaven-kissing  hill  as  not  many  towns  in  Massachusetts  have  to  show. 
The  landscape  upon  which  he  looked  abroad  was  calculated  to  enlarge 
his  mind,  and  had  its  natural  operation.  But  to  this  he  added  much 
reading  and  study  of  good  books.  .  .  .  When  he  had  left  West  Dedham 
and  gone  to  Belfast,  I  had  abetter  opportunity  to  note  the  features  of  his 
mind  than  I  had  had  before.  Many  of  his  sermons  were  printed  in  the 
local  papers  and  in  the  True  Religion.  And  then  I  saw  how  much  the 
quiet,  meditative  life  on  the  West  Dedham  hill  had  done  for  him.  His 
thought  had  grown  immeasurably  fuller  and  deeper,  and  his  expression 
of  it  clearer  and  firmer  in  a  like  degree.  ...  His  aptitade  was  for 
practical  rather  than  for  speculative  themes.  He  interpreted  his  ministe- 
rial function  as  an  instrument  of  social  reformation.  Problems  of  edu- 
cation and  political  science  had  for  him  commanding  interest,  and 
he  brought  to  them  a  fine  illumination.  .  .  . 

The  top  and  crown  of  his  rejoicing  was  his  domestic  life.  His  most 
passionate  ambition  ever  was  to  give  his  children  such  an  education 
as  would  fit  them  for  some  honorable  and  useful  station  in  the  worid.  .  .  . 
In  all  personal  relations,  he  seemed  to  me  most  generous  and  loyal. 
For  the  ties  of  kinship  he  had  great  regard.  A  more  filial  and  paternal 
spirit  it  has  not  been  my  lot  to  know. 

During  several  months  in  1879  and  1880,  the  pulpit  was 
supplied  by  the  Rev.  George  W.  Hosmer,  D.D.  The  Rev. 
George  W.  Cooke  began  his  connection  with  the  parish 
Dec  I,  1880;  and  he  resigned  June  13,  1887.  In  1883,  the 
meeting-house  was  struck  by  lightning  and  seriously  dam- 


138  THE  CLAPBOARD  TREES  PARISH 

aged.     The  clerk  wrote   this   account    of   it    in    the    parish 

records  :  — 

West  Dedham,  Friday,  April  20,  1883 

The  church  of  the  Unitarian  society  and  of  the  third  parish  in 
Dedham  was  this  day  struck  by  a  bolt  of  lightning  of  unusual  power 
and  force.  The  church  was  almost  lifted  from  its  foundations,  and  was 
very  badly  shattered  and  all  but  one  window  more  or  less  broken.  It 
was  visited  on  the  next  two  days,  Saturday  and  Sunday,  as  estimated, 
by  more  than  two  thousand  persons  ;  and  it  was  agreed  by  all  to  be  the 
most  wonderful  display  of  the  power  of  a  lightning  bolt  ever  seen  in  this 
vicinity. 

The  society  held  Sunday  services  on  the  two  following  Sabbaths  in 
Colburn  Hall,  and  on  the  third  Sabbath,  May  6,  in  the  Baptist  church, 
the  use  of  which  had  been  kindly  offered  them  by  the  parish  committee 
of  the  Baptist  society,  and  continued  there  until  July  i,  when  the  annual 
summer  vacation  was  commenced,  one  month  earlier  than  usual,  on 
account  of  sickness  and  affliction  in  the  family  of  Mr.  Cooke,  the  pastor 
of  the  society.  Services  commenced  in  the  church  after  the  repairs 
were  completed,  September  12. 

The  repairs  made  at  this  time  included  the  painting  of 
the  meeting-house  outside  and  in,  the  frescoing  of  the  in- 
terior, new  carpets  and  new  cushions  in  1886.  The  work 
was  efficiently  superintended  by  the  clerk,  E.  E.  Gay ;  and 
the  whole  expenditure  was  ^1,511.18.  Since  the  comple- 
tion of  these  repairs,  the  meeting-house  presents  as  attrac- 
tive and  tasteful  an  interior  as  can  be  found  in  any  country 
church  in  the  State. 

At  the  parish  meeting  of  1884,  a  committee,  consisting  of 
the  Rev.  C.  S.  Locke,  B.  F.  White,  and  Joseph  L.  Fisher, 
was  appointed  to  take  into  consideration  the  advisability  of 
building  a  parsonage,  and  to  report  methods  of  operation  to 
that  effect.  At  a  special  meeting,  it  was  decided  to  build ; 
and  George  Fisher,  Charles  French,  George  Kingsbury, 
George  M.  French,  Lusher  G.  Baker,  Miss  Hattie  Fisher, 
and  Mrs.  Kate  White  were  appointed  a  committee  to  pur- 
chase a  lot  and  to  erect  a  house.  Work  was  begun  in  the 
autumn  of  1884;  and  the  house  was  completed  early  in 
July,  1885,  when  Mr.  Cooke  immediately  moved  into  it. 
The  cost  of  land  and  the  erection  of  the  house  was  about 
$3,500.  The  house  was  located  on  High  Street,  opposite 
Gay,  and  on  land  purchased  of  Lusher  and  Granville   Baker. 


THE    PARISH    IN    RECENT    YEARS  139 

On    the   loth  of  January,   1886,  the  parish  observed  the 
one  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  its  legal  existence. 
The  night  preceding  was  very  stormy,  and  it  was  found  on 
Sunday  morning  that  the  meeting-house  could  not  be  occu- 
pied.    The   few  who   braved    the  weather  met  in  Colburn 
Hall,  when  Mr.  Cooke  preached  a  sermon,  in  which  he  de- 
scribed the  formation  of  the  parish  and  the  building  up  of 
the  congregation  and  church  under  the  first  minister.     On 
the  following  Sunday,  the  commemorative  service  was  held 
in  the  meeting-house ;  and  an  historical  discourse  was  given 
concerning  the  second  minister  and  the  parish  in  the  Revo- 
lution.      Neighboring    ministers    were    present,    and    brief 
addresses  were  made.     In  June,  Mr.  Cooke  continued  the 
history  of  the  parish  with  two  sermons  on  the  parish  under 
its  third  and  fourth  ministers. 

In  1887,  the  trustees  of  the  ministerial  fund  reported  that 
the  whole  amount  of  the  fund  was  ^15,606.61,  and  the  debts 
of  the  parish  were  $2,600. 


i^mm 


